First beach holiday with 2yo - what do we need?

July 4, 2024 8:21 AM

Looking for advice, tips, tricks, etc to make our first family trip away (on a plane! to a beach!) successful, or at least not needlessly nightmarish.

We'll be flying about 3h30m, then driving about 20 mins to a hotel. Toddler has never been on plane before or been to a proper sandy beach. They are already excited about the prospect of building sandcastles, seeing cool trucks at the airport and being on a plane.

We have got:
- Bluetooth headphones for toddler, for screen time of favourite shows on plane
- excellent selection of sand toys
- lots of sunscreen
- sun hats

We plan to get:
- swim nappies
- shade tent (maybe)
- floaties or similar

What else do we need ? What stuff should we plan to be doing on our travels and on the beach especially?

Toddler is, thankfully, a pretty good traveller, and we have the basic strategies down for keeping them occupied on the plane, eg books, tablet time, drawing stuff, etc. Our main concern is being first-timers with a toddler at the beach and making it as enjoyable, hassle-free as possible.

We're in the UK, so if stuff needs buying it needs to be available here!

posted by thetarium to Travel & Transportation (19 answers total)

- plan on a way to protect your child’s ears during the air pressure change of take off and landing (wear the headphones during these times, drink from a bottle, chew on something)
- if they don’t like putting on sunscreen try getting a make up brush. The sensation can be nicer
- make a plan to handle salt water and sand in the eyes
- some kids really don’t like the feeling of sand on their feet, try out water shoes at home before you go
- hours and hours at the beach is probably not realistic anymore so plan for things to do off the beach
posted by CMcG at 8:31 AM on July 4

My youngest grandkid is two. If I were taking him to the beach I would get him a couple of long-sleeved rashguard shirts. I would also look into alternatives for floaties. The pools where I live prefer (or insist) that children wear real life-jackets certified as meeting US Coast Guard standards. I'm sure there is some similar UK standard. If space in luggage is tight consider buying cheap beach toys at your destination and leave them behind for another kid. If your kid has some favorite foods or drinks consider bringing some along. Have fun!
posted by mareli at 9:28 AM on July 4

If there are other children about, they'll probably want to use your toys too. Coaching your child on the possibility ahead of time can help make that a pleasant experience leading to happy parallel playing in the sand. If you start to feel overwhelmed, just begin tucking things out of sight as they're set down, which they will be because it's a beach and the kids who do this are generally 2-5 years old. It can also help to have some phrases in mind so as to not be stymied by other people's children. Things like a cheerful "This one's not for sharing," as you gently but firmly grasp whatever favourite item has been claimed, "but you may play with this," offering an attractive substitute. Or "We'll be leaving in five minutes, so I'll need that back!" and "It's time to be done with [the bucket], thanks for playing with us!" If their adults are around, go ahead and work through them if you'd rather, but usually I end up surrounded by a bunch of kids and the adults are off lounging within eyesight but not actually participating.
posted by teremala at 9:30 AM on July 4

Avoid the beach during the hottest mid-day hours. Hit the beach in the morning hours, siesta/lunch in a cool indoor space, then beach again in the cooler evening hours/sunset.
posted by gnutron at 9:31 AM on July 4

Take turns being the parent "on duty." Being vigilant around water with kids is tiring, and can backfire if you both assume you're both watching. If you designate one parent on "life-guarding duty", then the other can truly enjoy downtime at the beach. We used to trade off every hour and it really made a difference to be able to nap, go for a walk, read, while also staying fresh for water safety and having fun with toddler.
posted by cocoagirl at 10:07 AM on July 4

Baby powder! It works great for getting sticky sand off skin. Also, if you weren’t already planning to put baby in a long sleeve SPF-rated rash guard, consider it. It’s much, much easier than remembering (and wrestling with them) to slather their whole upper body with sunblock every 90 minutes. Have fun! My son at the beach at that age are some of my fondest memories so far.
posted by lovableiago at 10:16 AM on July 4

Corn starch. Sand sticks to baby, apply corn starch, brush off. Baby gets a rash, too sweaty, etc., corn starch; it's a useful dry lubricant, and adults can use it, too. At 2, my child was happy to explore sand, seaweed, point at seagulls, etc. Wave action was huge fun and required no external effort. The best toys were smallish plastic, pre-inflated balls - the ones in the big bin at the store. Make a ball run by shaping sand. A couple plastic cups for pouring water or sand. There's a type of floaty you put the kiddo in, and tether it, you still have to pay attention, but it's so much easier and more relaxing and you can tow the baby around. The jacket-style life jacket should work similarly. Hat with a brim and neck coverage. The sun is strongest from 11 - 1, go have indoor fun.

'On-duty' parent - great idea.

For grownups, I recently got crocs, cheap knockoffs are fine, and they are great as shower shoes, slippers, beach shoes, etc., and dry faster than my water sandals.
posted by theora55 at 10:29 AM on July 4

I can recommend the shade tent (if you get one of the popup ones, practice wrangling it back into its bag).

Does your collection of beach toys include a kite? (It should.)

I think I recall seeing recommendations against floaties while the tide is going out; apparently they make it easier for the waves to drag your kid out to sea faster than an adult swimmer can keep up with.
posted by demi-octopus at 10:53 AM on July 4

If you're staying at a house (rather than a hotel), and if that house has shaded/covered areas, I highly recommend buying a cheap wading pool at the local dollar store / mega mart. It's a great alternative for water play when the sun is too hot to be on the beach. Empty the water every night so it won't get slimy.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 11:17 AM on July 4

We live close to the beach and spend a lot of time there during the summer.

+1 to long-sleeved rash guard, wide-brimmed hat (with drawstring so it doesn't blow away), corn starch/baby powder for sand removal, crocs or sand shoes, and an actual life jacket rather than arm bands. A pop-up shade situation is fantastic.

If spray-on sunscreen is an option for you, that is my recommendation for the beach (vs. a tube of cream that becomes a magnet for sand). Ensure that bathing suits and life jackets are as bright as possible; it's amazing how easily blue/black suits just vanish into the background. Consider bringing a large insulated cup that you pack with freezies/popsicles – so refreshing when you need a treat! Watermelon and chips/crisps are the two other beach essentials over here.

Sand castles, building a canal from the water to fill your moat, exploring tide pools, a scavenger hunt...all great ways to fill some time.
posted by notquitejane at 11:24 AM on July 4

Lots of kids have some tummy issues on planes. Bring extra diapers and a change of clothes for everyone. If you bring yourself extra clothes, you likely don’t need it but it always seems like the moment you decide you don’t need it, you end up with puke all over you.

Someone mentioned a makeup brush but I found a makeup sponge is great for sunscreen.
posted by vunder at 11:32 AM on July 4

These are great tips. Nthing morning/evenings, pdfs over floaters, and rashguards. If you’re going twice a day, 2 bathing suits/rashguards helps a lot with that icky half-wet clothing experience.

A few dry washcloths are good for brushing off hands/bottles/containers as the day goes on rather than relying on the edge of a towel. I assume you’ve got a large towel or thin blanket already.

We really had to keep our kids drinking water, so we got into a routine of water breaks between every activity. Another routine was to start hanging up towels (if you have nearby branches etc.) and calming the activity down about 15 minutes before leaving. Dry sand is easier to deal with on exit than wet sand, although we always dipped our toes back in anyway.

The few times we had to spend a longer time (>2 hrs straight) on a beach, some books to read together provided a good little break/snuggle time.
posted by warriorqueen at 11:44 AM on July 4

Beach towels or a rug/mat to sit on!
posted by lokta at 11:55 AM on July 4

Hat with a brim that goes around the head like a bucket hat. SPF rated long sleeve shirt. Hoodie version to keep sun off neck even when hoodie down.

You mention blue tooth listening device. Here in the States, some airlines (JBLU) only have wired connections to the seat back screen.

I flew with 3 children under 3 several times. You just never know if they will have a bad day or bad flight. For several flights I bought drinks for everyone two rows in front and 2 rows behind us bc one of mine was crying or fidgeting etc. I have had them be very quiet on a 5 hour flight. You never know. Don't worry about it. Try your best to quiet the kid, make sure they are not kicking the seat in front of them, and relax.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 1:27 PM on July 4

The parents seem underprovisioned for the beach. If your destination has umbrella, chair, or cabana rentals - use them! Otherwise, go to the big box store and buy yourselves a shade umbrella, chairs, beach blanket, and soft-sided cooler and leave them behind at your destination.
posted by shock muppet at 2:30 PM on July 4

Went with my brothers family to mexico last year with my (then) 18 month and 3 year old niblings. Nthing the rashguards, pdfs for safety plus inflatables for play, and definitely do the shade tent unless you know already what the shade situation will be. Lots of snacks and new toys for the flight - the dollar store is great for this. Also remember there may be a lot of waiting at the airport, but if you can find some relatively empty section to let the kiddos run around and burn off energy before the flight, do that! (Our local airport actually has a kiddy playground indoors… omgosh did that help!) Water bottles for the beach for sure. Extra wipes for all the things - they are so handy!
posted by cgg at 4:04 PM on July 4

Make sure you rinse after being in the sand and water. It can get rashy quickly.

I needed things for my kid to do on the plane to help fidget.

Also needed some toys for in the hotel room.
posted by shockpoppet at 6:53 PM on July 4

Lots of good advice above - will also add:
Determine your plan for getting you and your stuff to the beach. Not sure if you’ll be at a resort but if there’s a trek, make sure you bring or have access to bags that make that trek doable (a wagon/cart would be even easier, especially if you’re bringing chairs and a shade tent).
Similarly (but not likely the entire answer to the first point), I like bringing a few extra tote bags that store very small, since I often find there’s some extra stuff that needs to get thrown in a bag somewhere.
Also extra ziplocks and wet/dry bags always come in handy! I also used the ziplocks on the plane with my toddler, to contain leftover snacks, garbage, etc.
Have a great time!
posted by moogs at 7:14 PM on July 4

Definitely be sun-safe - more than you might think you need to. There's little worse than a sunburnt two-year-old to take the fun out of a holiday. Definitely rash shirts and a suitable hat with a brim and drawstring. Some kind of portable shade is great, but mostly for parents, as it's hard to keep a small child in the shade.

Floaties are not great - they won't actually hold a child up in any way they can breathe and are very restrictive. Proper PFDs are far better and more comfortable to wear any time they are anywhere near the water.

If you're up for it, the absolute best thing for a two-year-old at the beach is to dig the biggest hole you can, just near enough to the waves so it fills up with water. Obviously, close supervision is essential for when it inevitably collapses, to the great delight of your child.
posted by dg at 8:06 PM on July 4