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If you are planning to load up your family and head out to the ocean this year, then these tips for visiting the beach with kids are sure to come in handy. A great beach vacation is a fun way to spend time with your children, but you should be prepared for those incidental issues that can arise. These tips will keep you and your kids happy and having fun for the duration of your time at the beach.
Tips For Visiting the Beach with Kids
Choose a beach with public restrooms
With kids, this is seriously important to think about. Unless you are renting a condo with beach front access that means you can quickly and easily come and go to use your own bathrooms, kids at the ocean mean you need a bathroom. Public restrooms are never our first choice, but they are much better than having to load everything back into a car, drive five miles to a fast food place, and then go back to the beach. Check in advance and only go to beach areas that have bathroom access handy.
Pack more sunscreen than you think you’ll need
One bottle is just not going to be enough. You don’t want to pay high prices at the beach or at beachfront stores. Bring at least 2-3 bottles for a week vacation and potentially more depending on how large the bottles are and how many are in your family. Sunscreen is nothing to joke around about, and it is a necessity. Nothing ruins a trip more than a bad sunburn!
Bring along the toys for in the sand
Kids will have different reactions to the water. Visiting the beach with kids doesn’t necessarily mean everyone will be in the water swimming. Having books for adults and older kids to read, as well as toys like buckets and shovels for kids to play in the sand with is important.
Don’t forget life vests
Floaties, rafts, and similar items are not proper flotation devices. They will not protect a child from drowning. Even if your children are strong swimmers, life vests are essential. The tide and pull of the ocean can be much more than they are use to. Swimming on a beach oceanside is vastly different than doing laps in a swimming pool. If your kids plan to get very far out in the water, a properly fitting life vest is a necessity.
Take an extra pair of eyes
If you have a large family or extra kids along for your trip, then more eyes are necessary to watch everyone. Sometimes, you just need a break to relax on your own. An extra pair of eyes on the water and beach activities will give you peace of mind while continuing to protect your children. Your spouse, a neighborhood teenage babysitter, grandparents, or your favorite sibling are all great choices to have along for your beach destination.
No matter where your destination is, these tips for visiting the beach with kids will make it all easier. A great afternoon or week of fun in the sun is often just what the doctor ordered!
These are good tips. I would add to be careful about outgoing tide and undercurrents, esp if you are at somewhere new. Also, from what I’ve been reading, sunscreen isn’t all that effective. I have some good coverups like non-see through long-sleeve tees, sun hats, too.