We only went to the beach twice during our week vacation and now that it’s over, I regret we didn’t go every day.
You don’t need to bring a bunch of stuff to the beach to have a stress-free time with your kids.
Taking less to the beach will make the trip feel less overwhelming, especially with toddlers in tow.
Be prepared with the basic necessities
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I’m not going to include these with the five items because you’ll generally bring the following anyway.
BEACH TOWELS – Bring 1 towel per person, plus an extra if you plan on trying to have your toddler nap while you’re there. You can use the extra towel as a blanket or if one gets wet.
REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE – I saw a Mom hack that said to freeze bottled water to use in place of ice, but I think this is one of the worst recommendations ever (I’m sorry!). The plastic water bottles end up all over your vacation home, they’re horrible for the environment, and who knows how long that water has been sitting in plastic.
I’m far from perfect but I’m just not down with plastic water bottles. Bring a Brita Water Filter Pitcher to your beach vacation, which is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made, fill your reusable (freezable) water bottles up halfway, and freeze overnight. The next day, fill the water bottles the rest of the way, stick them in your rolling backpack cooler to keep your food cold, and you’re all set!
SUNSCREEN – I’ve never been a huge fan of the sprays for the beach. If it’s windy, the sunscreen goes everywhere BUT your child’s skin. I would just buy sunscreen lotion for the beach. My toddler doesn’t mind sunscreen, but if your little one hates it, get a sunscreen stick. While you’re applying the sunscreen lotion, your toddler can help with the sunscreen stick.
The six items that made our time easier with a toddler
The great part about where we live is we’re within a 1-2 hour drive of the New Jersey beaches. My favorite childhood memories are when my grandparents would take us to Wildwood every summer and we stayed at the iconic Thunderbird Inn. Unfortunately, the Thunderbird Inn faced the same fate as many of Wildwood’s Doo Wop motels and closed down in the early 2000s after a fire.
When I found out it had permanently closed, I was devastated. It had a massive pool (complete with a grotto where my sisters and I pretended to be mermaids), a restaurant, and Tiki Bar. I still have not been able to find a motel in Wildwood that comes even remotely close.
Even though I wasn’t able to relive those childhood memories at the Thunderbird Inn, my boyfriend and I still had a ton of fun ( and exhausting) experiences with our daughter in Wildwood last summer.
The biggest hack is LESS IS MORE.
Wildwood’s beach is quite a walk. They lay down boards at most points of entry, but even with boards over the sand, it’s still a hike with kids in tow. One major item I left off is a beach wagon. Unless you spend over $300 for the wagons with the huge bubble wheels, you’ll likely need two people to lift it when the boards end or you’re dragging it through the sand…. and it’s not easy.
However, if I were going to a beach with a short walk in the sand, I’d invest in a beach wagon. After a long day at the beach, you can put the little ones in there with some of your things, and you’re not dreading the walk back.
The following items made the beach trip a breeze with toddlers in tow.
ROLLING BACKPACK COOLER
You can wheel this backpack cooler and then pick it up and put it on your back once the boards end on the beach. Our friend’s three-year-old wheeled it the entire length of the boards there and back. He was our lil trooper! I also put our beach towels in here. If we plan on staying all day, I’d use a beach bag for the towels since the cooler would be packed with lunch, drinks, and snacks.
CANOPY UMBRELLA
If you’re planning on being at the beach for a while, you’re going to want some cover for your toddler, especially if they’re fair-skinned and you’re staying during naptime. It’s also great to have shade for when your kids are eating.
Last year, our group had a canopy but none of us could figure out how to fold it back up, and the guys ended up breaking it in the process (your patience wears thin pretty quickly after being on the beach with toddlers all day). This canopy umbrella has great reviews and most importantly, it’s easy to pack up because it’s an umbrella. On windy days, you can fill the pockets with sand after staking the umbrella into the ground to keep it from blowing away.
I also saw a family set up a pop-up tent like the SUN NINJA Pop-Up Beach Tent and it looked easy to assemble and gave them lots of shade.
BEACH TOYS
I brought an entire bag of beach toys. My 1-1/2-year-old only wanted to play with the beach shovel, bucket, and dump truck our friend brought for their three-year-old. I suggest storing these items in a mesh bag like this one to easily shake out the sand.
The beach is already going to be sensory overload and a toddler is constantly moving. They’re not going to sit there and play in the sand for long periods of time, and if they do, they’re not building a sandcastle with all the extra buckets and digging tools… you will.
PORTABLE BABY CHAIR
This Portable Baby Chair was great for the beach and the best part about it is it can go over your shoulder. You’re going to want a spot your toddler can sit and eat that isn’t on the ground. This was great for our 1-1/2-year-old and our niece, who was almost a year old at the time. Both of our kids also used the portable baby chair as a high chair/booster seat while on our vacation.
The Melissa and Doug Kid’s Chair is perfect for two-year-olds, and it’s also great to take to our local kids’ concerts at the park and outdoor movie nights. Our daughter likes to sit in it while we’re hanging out at home too. There’s also a cute, yellow bug chair if your child isn’t into pink.
BEACH CHAIRS
Beach chairs are a must for us and will likely last for years to come. We’ve had Tommy Bahamas for almost a decade now and they’re still going strong. The best part is they have straps so you can carry them on your back if the wagon isn’t in your budget at the moment. They’re also great for concerts, the pool, your children’s sports events, the park, etc. They always come in handy.
No matter what you do, the beach might be a sensory overload for your little one. Bringing less will make it so much easier. Your toddler may love the beach or absolutely hate it.