Packing for the Beach with a Toddler

Top 10 Items to Bring to the Beach for a Toddler

1. Baby Powder Did you know baby powder will take off sand? I got a small travel size tub to throw into our beach bag, and it was prolly the best thing I could have brought. My Joey didn't like the feel of sand in his shoes when we were leaving the beach (I mean who does) so he wanted to be carried.. being pregnant, hot and having all the other beach things, this is not something I wanted to do. A sprinkle of powder.. and it took it all off so he could walk! It also worked well of getting the sand off when I changed his diaper. 2. Umbrella or Tent We brought with us a beach umbrella, and put it in the corner of our stuff covering some of the blanket. I don't think Joey went under it once, only when I forced him to change his diaper. If you have a child that can fall asleep anywhere I would definitely recommend getting a smaller tent or bring the umbrella. 3. Blanket  I purchased this blanket, and it worked so well. First off it was huge, and the sand just brushed right off. Secondly, it had anchors so that it wouldn't bunch up or blow away. It came with a bag to easy pack it away and didn't attract the sand!   4. Sand Toys Let's face it, kids need to stay busy. We brought sand toys we've had for a while, along with some of Joey's favorite outside dump trucks and what not and he could have played all day our there if we let him.  5. Small Chair I got this chair because I loved the design, and it worked well on the beach when Joey had his snack. 
6. Towels This should be a given when you are going to the beach, but sometimes you forget. I brought extra towels for Joey thinking I would make a little bed for him to nap on.. I def. thought wrong. 7. Sunscreen - Spray All summer I used a rub on lotion for Joey, but knowing from putting sunscreen on myself, I prefer the spray. So I picked up a large bottle of kids spray sunscreen in 50 SPF to keep applying. There was no mess from rubbing it in, god forbid there was sand on his body... and it was so easy to re-apply.  8. Small Fan I brought the small fan we used when Joey was a baby on his stroller. But honestly we didn't use it. If Joey would have taken a nap, I would have clipped it on to the umbrella or towel to keep him cool while napping.  9. Hat I brought two different hats for Joey to wear on the beach. One was a bucket hat with more coverage, and the other was just a baseball cap that he wore backwards. This protected his face, neck  and ears from getting too much sun. 10. Wagon Lastly, but definitely not least, is a wagon or some kind of buggy to put all the above in. It was so easy to pack everything into the wagon and wheel it right onto the beach. I got mine a few years ago at Costco, but here is a similar one!