Beach With Kids: Everything you need to bring to the beach with kids, plus what to skip in your beach bag! All the beach bag essentials for a day at the beach with baby and kids and tips for saving your sanity!
BEACH WITH KIDS
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After five years of taking the kids to the beach, I have finally mastered the age-old question “what do I need to bring to the beach with kids?” The answer: Just the essentials! There is nothing worse than feeling like you are bringing your entire house down to the beach!
BEACH BAG CHECKLIST FOR KIDS
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- Regular disposable diapers, wipes and a reusable swim diaper
- Bring an extra diaper for your baby to change into after swimming
- Sunscreen – this is our favorite non-toxic sunscreen that rubs in easily!
- Sun hat
- Sun shelter:
- Either buy an infant sun shelter or this larger windproof sun shelter
- Swimsuits and rashguards
- Extra set of clothes
- Beach toys
- One large beach bag and small rinsable, breathable bag
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- Large waterproof beach bag- I love mine which has lasted me 8 years!
- small rinsable, breathable bag for sandy toys- these bags are super useful and are reusable
- wet bag for sunscreen, wet swimsuitsWwater bottles and snacks
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- (2) blankets to sit on:
- Large waterproof blanket– I bring two (the waterproof one for the kids, and a soft one for me)
- Beach chairs
- Beach transportation:
- If you are walking a little: I just use our big ol’ stroller because it has huge wheels but it is heavy!
- If you are walking a lot (and have more stuff than kids to carry)
- If you have a baby, I always bring this– my kids have had many a nap in it!
TIPS FOR ENJOYING THE BEACH WITH KIDS
- DIAPERS: Unless your baby is going in the water right away, keep them in their regular diaper. Seriously, you will get peed on! Swim diapers only catch poop (they don’t absorb anything,) so if they pee in it it will go everywhere. Change them into a reusable swim diaper right before you go in the water.
- BUY A SUN SHELTER: Regardless of whether you have one, two, or three kids, bringing a sun shelter is important for going to the beach with kids. When we only had one baby, we bought this infant sun shelter for the baby. Now that we have three kids, we use this larger windproof sun shelter that is open to one side. It fits two adults underneath it and has plenty of room for the kids to play in the sand in the shade!
- INVEST IN RASH GUARDS: We love getting our’s here and here. For smocked swimsuits, I go here or here. And of course, check here for bargains!
- GET THE SAND OFF: To get sand off of legs and toes, I bring this with me in its own plastic bag.
- RINSABLE TOYS: Only bring toys that won’t collect sand and can easily be washed off.
- For babies: Stick with teething toys that are simple and don’t have nooks and crannies for sand to get caught in. So we stuck with simple wooden teethers, a skwish, and Sophie (who I could just rinse off.)
- Older babies: When B got older, we started bringing real beach toys–simple shovels, pails, cups.
- Toddlers & Preschoolers: Last year, we bought these cheap toys from Ikea, but here’s another cute collection which is affordable
- WHEN IT’S TOO COLD TO SWIM: If your kids love swimming but hate how cold the water is, this is a great option–especially for babies!
- BRING LOTS OF SMALLER BAGS: A big beach bag can get unruly. I find that keeping smaller bags inside a large waterproof beach bag is the easiest way to stay organized at the beach with kids! Specifically, I use three bags:
- Large waterproof beach bag- I love mine which has lasted me 8 years!
- small rinsable, breathable bag for sandy toys- these bags are super useful and are reusable
- wet bag for sunscreen, wet swimsuits
- BRING SNACKS & WATER:
- For the grown-ups: I always have my water bottle
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- For the kids: My kids use these but because of the straws, I don’t take them to the beach. I take inexpensive water bottles and refill them with my cold water an extra insulated water bottle.
- Don’t forget the food: cheese sticks, fruit, napkins all make great snacks
- KEEP IT COOL: Bring a cooler stacked with snacks! I love this one for its easy access and its fun colors!
- CREATE ZONES: To keep adults sand-free I usually bring a play mat (one blanket that the kids can play with and get super sandy) and a soft blanket that adults can sit on and babies can rest on.
- Favorite lightweight towels- I bought mine here.
- Large waterproof blanket– I bring two (the waterproof one for the kids, and the soft one for me)
- SAVE YOUR BACK:
- If you are walking a little: I just use our big ol’ stroller because it has huge wheels but it is heavy!
- If you are walking a lot (and have more stuff than kids to carry)
- If you have a baby, I always bring this– my kids have had many a nap in it!
Jen says
The beach blanket is no longer available at Bed bath and beyond. Any suggestions?
Martyna says
How is the Bob working for you on the beach?? We’re thinking about purchasing one just so we could take it to the beach but o haven’t really seen any people with strolls on the beach so maybe they just don’t belong on there??