5 Beach Must-Haves to Bring for Your Toddler

If you are going to the beach for the first time with your little one, you might be asking yourself what to bring to the beach with a toddler. We recently traveled to Hawaii and spent a lot of time at the beach (obviously). We brought our 14 month old and he had the time of his life. There were a few things that I brought that definitely made our time by the ocean so much more enjoyable.

1. Nylon Beach Blanket

It’s so nice to have something to sit on when you’re at the beach. A regular beach towel is fine, but I found a Nylon blanket to be the best. Nylon is lightweight, and dries quickly. This is great because you don’t necessarily need to wash it all the time because it doesn’t hold onto moisture, and it won’t mold.

The sand also doesn’t stick to it so it’s really easy to just shake the sand right off. Your toddler will throw sand and crawl all over it while they’re covered, so having something the sand won’t stick to is very convenient.

The specific one I love is the Matador Pocket Blanket. It folds up extremely small, and has small stakes attached at the corners. On our trip to Hawaii, we just kept it in our car the whole time so we could grab it out when we rolled up to a beach. We would smooth out the spot we wanted to lay it and stake it down.

2. Sand Brush

After you’ve had your fun in the sun, it’s time to head back to the car. You don’t necessarily want to bring the whole beach with you into your car. But no matter how much you swipe and try to rub off, you still have sand stuck to you and your kids. Definitely not my favorite part of a beach trip. But I found a solution!

It may not be the first thing you think of when you ask yourself what to bring to the beach with a toddler, but a sand brush is magic in getting all the sand off your body. It is so quick and easy to use. You just keep it in your car for when you get done at the beach, brush off your legs and feet, and you’re good! You don’t have a sandbox for a car.

3. Reef-Safe Sunscreen

If you didn’t know, there are ingredients in sunscreen that are harmful to our oceans’ reefs. These include, but aren’t limited to, Oxybenzone and Octinoxate. As of 2021, Hawaii has banned the selling of sunscreen with these ingredients. I will include a link to more information here if you want to read up on it a little more.

It is so important to use sunscreen without these ingredients to keep our oceans’ healthy. My favorite, and the only sunscreen I have used on my baby since he was 6 months old, is Badger Balm Mineral Sunscreen. It has simple, organic ingredients that are safe for your baby and the reef.

4. Snacks/Water

When you’re at the beach, you and your kiddo are in a lot of sun and moving a lot. If you have a baby or toddler that still love putting things in their mouth, you can definitely expect they will taste the sand at least once. Plenty of snacks and water is a great thing to have on hand.

I made sure to give my little guy plenty of sips of water while we were at the beach to keep him hydrated. I also used water to help rinse out his mouth after he’d put sand in his mouth.

Here were some of my toddler’s favorite beach snacks were:

• Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies
• Grapes
• Fruit Snacks (These ones are not healthy at all but SO yummy!)
• Animal Crackers
• Tangerine/Cutie
• Raisins

5. Long Sleeve Bathing Suit

I live in Utah and we were went to Hawaii at the end of February. Our skin hasn’t seen the sun a whole lot, and I was really concerned about my little guy getting sunburned. Getting a good sunscreen is important, but you have to reapply, and I wanted to find something that would completely cover most of his body.

So I decided to look for a long sleeve one piece swimsuit. I found a used one at my local thrift store and it worked out great! I will link a similar one here. Long sleeve swimsuits work great for boys and girls. If you have older kids, a rashguard is a great option too. Having his whole entire upper body covered was so helpful.

A little bonus, I also had a lightweight sun hat for him when the sun was at its peak. It shaded his face and kept the top of his head from getting burned. If you can’t tell, I was very concerned about him getting burned.

After reading this I hope you have a better idea of what to bring to the beach with a toddler. The beach is a great place for them to explore a new environment and just have fun. Bring some essentials, don’t stress too much, and you will have a great time.