Here are our favorite beach ideas for babies and toddlers, including twins! They have all been tested by our family, including when our twins were babies and our oldest was 2.
Note: As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links, at no extra cost to you. Read my full disclosure for more information.
Preparing for a Beach Day
When preparing for a beach day with babies and toddlers there are many things to keep in mind, and I highly recommend having a list of everything you need to bring. Even though my kids are school-age now, I still have a list of what we need to bring to the beach near the back door!
Product Recommendations for Beach Day
There are a lot of products I recommend bringing to the beach for your babies or toddlers, and if you have twins, you’ll need some things in duplicate. I’ll go into more detail on many of these below and each item can be clicked which will take you to the product page to see what I recommend.
- Beach Bag and Mesh Beach Bag
- Outdoor Play Yard with Canopy
- Disposable Swim Diapers or Reusable Swim Diapers
- Change of Clothes
- Beach Towels
- Beach Toys / Sand Toys
- Regular diapers for the ride home
- Beach Blanket
- Cool water
- Breastmilk or formula
- Diaper Bag
- Baby Sunscreen if they’re over 6 months of age
- Baby Sun Hats
- Cooler Bag or hard sided cooler
- Plastic Bags for wet clothes and one for dirty diapers
- Life jacket especially if going out on a boat
- A Beach Wagon with large wheels can be helpful to carry everything
I go more into detail regarding product recommendations for family beach day in another blog post for when your kids are a little older here.
Beach Bag
We have a lot of things that we bring to the beach so I have multiple beach bags that I haul back and forth from the van to the beach whenever we go. My two favorites include a mesh beach bag for towels and sand toys, as well as a waterproof beach bag with zipper and pockets for everything else.
Baby Play Yard
When you have babies and toddlers, keep in mind that they like to put everything in their mouths. Also keep in mind that the beach is full of hot sand that can burn baby’s skin! For those two reasons, I highly suggest having a pop up beach play yard for your little ones to keep them off the hot sand and to keep the sand out of their mouths!
If you get the one we had, it also has a sun shade to keep babies out of direct sunlight. As you probably know, it isn’t a good idea to put sunscreen on babies under 6 months of age so keeping them out of direct sunlight is one of your few options.
Even when kids are old enough to have sunscreen on, it’s still a good idea to keep babies and toddlers out of direct sunlight all the time. Here and there is one thing but think about how hot you get in direct sunlight and keep in mind they aren’t as good at regulating body temperature.
If you don’t want a whole play yard you could also opt for a beach umbrella or baby beach tent, however, those won’t contain your little ones like the pop up beach play yard.
Full ventilating mosquito mesh on one side and a UV protected polyester on the other it creates a safe and shaded play area. Fold and go design for easy use and storage
Easy Cleaning, Safety - perfect for children 6-24 months, portable indoor/outdoor and lightweight.
I don’t have any pictures of them in this at the beach but the sand would sure be softer ground than the concrete they were on in the first photo.
Beach Towels
Even if your babies or toddlers won’t be going into the water, having a few beach towels with can be very handy. You can use them to shade your babies, keep them warm if there is a cool breeze, wipe sand off of them, protect them from the hot sand, and more! They also come in handy when you need to do beach diaper changes to shield baby from others and/or keep their little butts free of sand!
Beach Toys
Even if your little ones aren’t old enough to play in the sand, they may enjoy holding beach toys. If your little ones are young enough that they put everything in their mouths, I’d suggest washing the beach toys ahead of time and not letting them into the sand while baby is exploring them. This way they won’t get a bunch of sand in their mouths, or germs, as they explore the beach toys with their hands and mouths.
Also be sure that the toys are safe for babies under 3 and aren’t too small. You could also opt to bring bath toys or other toys, especially if they’re in a play yard they shouldn’t get much sand on them.
Beach Blanket
We have two beach blankets that fold and zip up into flat pillows that we absolutely love. They are durable, don’t attract sand like some blankets, and are small and easy to transport! Even my kids will often help carry a beach blanket to the beach since it has a handy strap on it.
Cool Water
Always be sure to bring plenty of cool water for your baby or toddler to drink, and extra for you! It’s important for everyone to stay hydrated at the beach, especially if you’re staying the whole day like we tend to do. Babies under 6 months old shouldn’t have water, only breastmilk or formula, so be sure to have those along as well.
Diaper Bag
As any parent knows, when you’re leaving the house you HAVE to have your diaper bag along! It should have at least one change of clothes, swim diapers, regular diapers, baby sunscreen, sunglasses, plastic bags, and anything else you can fit in it!
I’ve written a blog post about how much I love this diaper bag if you want more insider details!
Skip Hop’s lightweight, quilted backpack offers hands-free ease and special packing cubes for baby's gear. The spacious interior fits everything from snacks to spare outfits and the extra wide opening makes it easy to find essentials in a pinch Main compartment with extra-wide opening and two-way zip closure; Front section with two-way zip closure allows easy access to two included storage cubes Two insulated side bottle pockets; Elasticized interior pockets and cell phone pocket; Changing pad pocket holds tablets and laptops up to 15” Padded backpack straps (adjust from approx. 13" to 28") and Easy-grab top handle Hangs neatly on stroller with built-in stroller straps
Baby Sun Hats
Baby sun hats are not only useful but absolutely adorable. We had baby sun hats for our twins which they wore when they were 9 months old and we went to a cabin up north with my parents for a few days. They have strings on them so they stay on but also keep in mind that they could strangle themselves with the strings so be sure that they’re never out of your sight while they’re wearing them.
Baby Life Jacket
If you’re headed out on the boat or letting baby get near the water at all, I highly suggest having them wear a life jacket. In fact, it’s required in a boat of any type. If you have your babies in a play yard and they can’t get out while on the beach, I wouldn’t be as worried, but if they are roaming the beach freely, it’d be the safe thing to do.
No matter if they’re wearing a life jacket or not, always keep a close eye on your babies, toddlers, and kids in general. It doesn’t take long for them to accidentally wander into the water and drown.
U.S. Coast Guard Approved Personal Flotation Device (Type II)Designed to fit snug for your safety.
US Coast Guard rated 0-30 pounds. Recommended for approximate chest size up to 24 inches.
Beach Wagon
If you don’t want to have to haul everything on your own to the beach you can get an awesome beach wagon with large wheels to help you! There are many beach wagons that just hold gear, but not kids, which have better wheels than the ones that hold kids so it really depends on what you want to use it for. We have a wagon that holds kids but has small wheels, even smaller than these, and they don’t do great in the sand. I’m guessing though that the Beach and Boardwalk Wagon would do better than ours does.
Either way, beach wagons are awesome because they fold up small and can carry a lot. The ones that carry kids also have safety straps and often a canopy for sun protection.
BEACH TIRES: The Beach & Boardwalk Wagon features extra-wide wheels and a linked steering mechanism, which allows easy steering on sand | The Beach and Boardwalk Wagon has been named a Best Beach Wagon by Good Housekeeping.
Folds for Storage
3 Wagons in 1
Below is our wagon with it’s smaller/regular wheels that aren’t great in the sand but the ones above should be better!
Baby Sunscreen
If your baby is over 6 months, be sure to slather them with baby sunscreen! We like the mineral sunscreens as they aren’t full of chemicals. Our favorite is the Babo Botanicals Sheer Mineral Sunscreen.
Beach Shoes or Sandals
If your baby is old enough to wear shoes, getting them some sandals for the beach would be a good idea so they don’t burn their little feet on the hot sand.
Beach Safety Tips
There are some beach safety tips to know for your first trip to the beach and every trip thereafter.
- Keep an eye on your baby, toddler, or children at all times, don’t just assume someone else is doing it, be in clear communication who is watching the kids at all times.
- Communicate with other adults around you if you need to step away to use the bathroom so they know they’re now in charge of keeping an eye on the kids.
- If your child is going to be anywhere near the water, even just possibly wander into the water, have a lifejacket on them for safety. This also goes for if they are on a dock or a boat.
- Keep in mind that babies put everything in their mouths so getting a play yard that will contain them may be your best bet for those early years.
- Stay near shallow water, not a beach with a quick drop off, with little kids.
- Don’t consume alcohol, especially in excess, when around children at the beach. You need to be alert enough to help them if a crisis shall arise.
- Ensure you have enough water for yourself and your children, snacks, and sunscreen.
- Bring a first aid kit just in case someone gets hurt
This is not an exhaustive list of beach safety tips, just a few that came to mind. I’m sure you have your own as well!
By following beach safety tips, the entire family can have a great beach day!
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.