Surviving (and maybe even thriving at??) the Beach with Kids
All of my favorite products that make fun days at the beach with kids possible. From sun protection to toys, this is what I'm packing
As a beach lover and person who wishes she could spend every second of every day basking in the sun, playing in the sand, and plunging in the ocean water, it is very important to me that my kids also enjoy the beach. After all, it is where I hope we spend majority of our time during the summer. That said, going to the beach with kids can be a lot. For an overstimulated girlie, the sun throws me into absolute overdrive and add on carrying 10,000 bags, managing a toddler meltdown, holding a baby who grasps at everything, and then I step on a shell. You get the idea... I quickly turn into a batshit crazy version of myself.
While this definitely can be my reality sometimes (and we of course practice our *deep breathing* together), it is absolutely never the goal. What is the goal, you ask? To successfully make it down to the beach without anyone yelling or crying, to actually enjoy ourselves once we are there, and to make family memories. In order to do so, I try to do a bit of the *less is more approach* so that I’m not carrying our entire house while also bringing some staples that make the experience easier. There is a scale you constantly have to balance of “will this help me enough that it is worth carrying??”. These are all of my favorite items that check off the yes box to that question.
Really quickly before we start - I want to announce July’s Expert Chat! I am so excited that we will be joined by a teammember of Solid Starts to talk all things solids and baby led weaning. Save the date for Wednesday 7/24 from 8-9PM EST! More info will be sent closer to the virtual event!
Let’s start off with the easiest part: getting them dressed. Without fail our 8 month old is always in a zip-up rash guard situation and our toddler is in a bathing suit + rashguard combination.
For our baby and his zip-up rashguard we love this one for the zipper/snap combo, the fit, and design options. Underneath this he is in a swip diaper! With this he is also always wearing a sun hat - we love this one and have it in basically every color. It gets great coverage, has a adjustable strap (not velcro!!!) for under the chin, and an adjustable strap in the back to tighten it depending on the head shape.
In terms of our toddler’s outfits, we recently just got a ton of these bathing suits in almost every design they had because he needs to be sent to camp in swimwear (for water table play) and have a dry pair to change into after nap so we are basically in swimsuits all summer long. I found this pair to be a great length and love that it was affordable, had a bunch of different designs, and had a drawstring. Similarly, we basically bought this rash guard in a multitude of colors (and some colors just got multiples of the same one) so that we can easily throw it on with his bottoms. They are affordable, have a ton of different color options, are not too stiff, and are honestly very soft.
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(Note that if the kids will actually be in a body of water, it is recommended that they not wear blue coloring. For us, my parent’s pool is a very small square and the kids are only ever in it if we are holding them - otherwise the electric cover is closed - and neither child actually goes in the ocean).
While we’re on the topic of clothing and sun protection…