Growing up in Houston, I was lucky enough to live within an hour or so from the beach, and beach vacations were a constant through my whole life. My childhood summers are consistently punctuated by memories of walks along the shore, collecting sand dollar fragments, building muddy, crumbling sand castles, boogie boarding in the occasional rough surf. As I got older, these activities evolved through some Spring Break-esque misadventures and eventually beach vacations became all about relaxation: lounging in the sun, book in hand, toes in the sand.
The beach became my favorite type of vacation destination. I loved everything about the sound of crashing waves, the feel of toasty sand under my feet, a nice cool breeze off the ocean. This combination could instantly make my stress melt away.
Then we had kids.
Then we started taking our kids to the beach.
And now the beach is a whole different experience!
A visit to the beach no longer sparks images of a lazy nap under an umbrella. Even a day trip to the coast requires a good amount of packing, planning, and then constant vigilance throughout the day. No longer a day of lounging, but now a day of sun-soaked, muddy, sandy, salty, wet, action-packed liveliness! The beach is for sure much more work to make it enjoyable, but it is such a thrill to enjoy the beach through the eyes of our kids. We have made it to the beach at least once every summer since the kids were born, so we’ve done it through all stages of babyhood and toddlerhood. Not all of our trips have been long (several just one night), but we have learned many tips to make the visit as enjoyable as possible.
Water Safety
In order of importance, this is absolutely straight to the top. Water safety is not something we take lightly. If your child is mobile, even just crawling, you need to treat water safety seriously. Now that our kids are walking and active, they wear life jackets or puddle jumpers the entire time we are at the beach.
When looking at the wearable flotation devices, pay attention to the sizes and the weight requirements. Puddle jumpers typically require the child to be 30 lbs heavy, otherwise it will not keep your child afloat properly. We were counting up every pound with J, just waiting for him to hit that weight requirement. Now going into this upcoming pool season, we are keeping our fingers crossed that A will hit that mark just in time. Until then, A gets to wear an infant life jacket. She doesn’t love it – it is pretty restrictive, but we don’t play around and she doesn’t get a choice. Life jacket or go back inside.
Our exception to the flotation device rule has been when the kids are super young. One summer J was barely six months old and stayed put where we sat him down. The next summer he was a very unsteady walker. The following summer J was all over the place (in his puddle jumper), but A was just crawling around the sand. Besides the summer when J was an immobile infant, even though they were technically mobile we didn’t think the kids needed a flotation device. For one, they were simply so small that few options existed, and also, they were so small that they were never out of arms reach and certainly never near the water’s edge without actually being in a lap or being held. Looking back, we could have easily gotten an infant lifejacket for J during the summer he was barely walking. For another child, we might have done that. However, our choice was also colored by the fact that he was TERRIFIED of sand that summer. So he wasn’t going to run out toward the water on his own.
In general, err on the side of caution with water safety at the beach. I feel obligated to keep repeating this. Even if your child is a great swimmer, the environment at the beach can be very unpredictable – a strong current or rip tide, swimming out past a breaker, kids exerting themselves past normal fatigue… it doesn’t hurt to be extra careful. Even if your child is wearing a flotation device, watch them like a hawk. Our son loves to randomly pull off the arm bands on his puddle jumper and try to take it off. Yup, he did it at the beach last summer. Water safety above all else!
Sun Protection
Another precaution that you need to take with the kids is rigorous sun protection. Slather them up with sunscreen a bit before heading down to the beach (to let the lotion set into the skin) and then reapply, reapply, reapply. All day long. We normally use waterproof SPF 50 lotion to start and then spray on sun screen for reapplications. The spray makes it a little easier, especially if you have sandy hands. But make sure that whatever sunscreen you use, it is safe for your child. I think there is a minimum age, around six months, before sunscreen use is recommended.
Encourage the kids to wear sun hats for extra face protection. Wear bathing suits with rash guards or bring extra tshirts to throw on in the brutal afternoon sun. If your kids will wear sunglasses, bring those too.
- Sunscreen
- Sun hats
- Sunglasses
- Shirts
Of course, all of these precautions might be standard care for your family. I know that during the summer months, our kids get a layer of sunscreen every morning when getting dressed just as a part of our routine. And we all wear hats and/or sunglasses when we spend time outside almost anytime year round. This can serve as a good reminder, especially if you are traveling to the beach to escape some winter weather. Sunscreen could be easily overlooked if you are dealing with snow at home while you are packing.
Adjust your Expectations
Right behind the major safety precautions, coming into your beach trip with the right mindset is crucial for enjoying your day. When J was a baby, our first trip to the beach was probably the closest we will ever get to a peaceful, relaxing beach experience while the kids are young. He couldn’t crawl anywhere! Aside from some struggles with breastfeeding and diaper changes at the beach, as long as we kept him cool and covered in the shade, we didn’t have to worry about anything. I wish I could go back to that and appreciate how relatively easy that trip was.
The next summer, I was expecting a similar experience. True, diaper changes wouldn’t be fun, but we’d play in the sand, J would have a blast in the shallow waves, we’d eat snacks, maybe catch a cat nap under an umbrella. Ha! I was so naive. First, J was terrified of sand. Like, wouldn’t even sit on a towel on top of the sand, had to sit on top of me or Scott. He was scared of the seagulls too. The water was very unimpressive. Finally he relaxed a bit and became comfortable playing in the sand. (After several days!) And he also loved the small waves along the shoreline after some coaxing. But then we had to work to keep him entertained and happy and vigilantly block all attempts at eating fistfuls of the sand. Eating sand is something all kids do, right? Not just my kids?
Now when we head to the coast for some fun in the sun, I know that it is still work. It took me two full summers to shed my old mindset of a beach vacation. When you are at the beach with kids, it’s not going to be pina coladas and leafing through magazines. It is still parenting, after all – and in a much more dangerous environment. But this is still so new and exciting for the kids. J and A LOVE the beach! Their enthusiasm for the sand and surf is contagious and I don’t mind that my days of a lazy beach nap are past me. Jumping the waves and building sandcastles are my new beach activities. Well, maybe not “new”, we are full circle back to my childhood I guess.
Beach Packing
Like any other trip, your packing list for the beach is another important aspect. We always end up packing a ton of stuff, even for one night at the beach. Some of the items (like a cooler) just flat out take up a lot of space in the car and some of the items we pack are more for a just-in-case scenario. These items can certainly be streamlined if you are crunched for space or are traveling by plane. If you have the room, it can’t hurt to bring all of your gear.
Here is a rundown of some beach essentials that we always take along.
Beach blanket: basically just a really large towel but works great for spreading out for a space to sit
Beach mat: the one we have is plastic-y and kind of rough against your skin when it gets gritty with sand, but it is good for layering with a beach blanket on top if the sand is damp
Tent or Umbrella: depending on your beach, a large canopy tent might be ideal, but some resort areas prefer traditional umbrellas, which are easy to use on a very sandy beach. But if you are staying in a popular beach resort area, you might be able to rent beach chairs and umbrellas or they might be provided for free. Check on that before your trip.
Chairs: Foldable lounge chairs or camp chairs. For very young kids, a portable booster seat is useful. These keep the baby contained but also let them play in the sand.
Water shoes: essential for walking on hot sand or a coastline full of shell fragments
Toys: lots of sand toys and activities like boogie boards or frisbees
Towels: always enough for each person and a few extras just in case
Coolers: stocked with drinks, precut fruit, maybe some popsicles and lots of ice to keep everything cold all day
Flotation devices for water safety
Sun protection: sunscreen, sun hats, sunglasses
Beach food and drinks: No trip to the beach is complete without some cold drinks, and when kids are involved, snacks are always a must. Stock your cooler with lots of water, juice boxes, and any adult beverages. Anything to encourage hydration, like sippy cups. We don’t normally eat much at the beach, but cold fruit or popsicles (if you can keep them cold enough to stay frozen) from the cooler are always a hit.
A trip to the beach with your kids can be an incredible experience! Seeing the beach through their eyes and sharing in their excitement is so much fun. It might not be the peaceful relaxation that it used to be, but we have such a blast playing with the kids. Hopefully these tips will help you prepare for your own trip to the beach. We might end up fulling up our full size SUV just for even one night at the beach, but it is worth the work, and I am already looking forward to more beach time this summer!
