How to Have a Safe Beach Vacation with Young Children

Just because your kids are young doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a trip to the beach! There is so much fun little kids can have in the sand and in the water! However, there are also many different ways they could find themselves in trouble. To keep your trip fun, take a look at these tips on How to Have a Safe Beach Vacation with Young Children!

How to Have a Safe Beach Vacation with Young Children

1. Be Careful Around Water

While your kids can have a lot of fun in the water at the beach, the water can also be very dangerous. If your kids don’t know how to swim, put life vests on them (actual life vests, not arm floaties). If your kids kind of know how to swim, but aren’t really strong swimmers, still keep the life vests on. And always go into the water with them. A lot can happen in the ocean that can’t in a pool, including riptides and encountering dangerous aquatic animals. Also keep your kids from trying to dive headfirst into the water, especially murky, opaque water. And watch your kids in the shallow water, as even the small waves there are strong enough to push over little kids!

2. Practice Sun Safety

If you’re hoping to have a safe beach vacation with young children, you’ll want to make sure to be ready for the sun! Bring plenty of sun block, a beach umbrella, hats, and sunglasses. Also try to avoid going out to the beach at around 11-3 PM, when the sun will be strongest.

3. Be Careful Around Strangers

If your kids are little, they shouldn’t be wandering around the boardwalk on their own where they could get kidnapped. Neither should they be grouping up to play with other kids without you knowing about it. Make sure your kids have some basic stranger danger senses and keep watch over them in case you find them getting friendly with any teens or adults you don’t know.

4. Stay Hydrated

To have a safe beach vacation with young children, you’ll want to make sure everyone stays hydrated. If your kids for some reason want to drink the sea water, explain to them the difference between salt water and fresh water and hand them a water bottle instead. Also, make sure to have your kids take breaks every now and then to have a drink.

5. Watch Beach Safety Signals

One of the best ways to ensure you have a safe beach vacation with young children is to teach them to pay attention to and understand beach safety signals. This includes actual signage on the beach, and any instructions or whistle blows that lifeguards may use.

6. Learn the Beach

Before you even take your kids out on the sand, it’s a good idea to learn more about the beach you intend to have fun at! If possible, visit the beach without your kids. Talk to the lifeguards about the safest places to swim and the quietest places to set your umbrella. When you actually bring your kids onto the beach, look for broken bottles in the sand, little crab families, anything that might be possibly dangerous, then ensure you get rid of the danger or steer your kids away from it.

Remember, while the lifeguards are there to help out, it is your job to make sure they’re never needed in the first place! Prep your kids on water safety, stranger danger, etc. before leaving the house, and when on the beach keep watch over them the entire time!

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