What to Bring When Going to the Beach

Hi Mae, I live in Warrington PA and we have been going to Ocean City NJ for a number of years. We bring our own chairs and umbrella and a big blanket in addition to towels. Pack the cooler with drink boxes, little water bottles and if you make sandwiches....cut them in four because the seagulls will swoop down and take a sandwich right out of a little ones hands...I've seen it....but most important...the camera! It takes us 3 1/2 hrs on a Sat to get there....2 or less if we go on a weekday...but I have never gone this late in the summer so traffic may not be a bad now. Have a great time!! M.

Hi Mae,
My family has been going to the Delaware Shore every year now for 30+ years...so we've been there with little ones many times. Depending on whether or not you're staying in a beach house vs a hotel will determine what you need to take. This past summer we had a two-year old and we took his pack`n play for sleeping. We always take our own beach chairs (if there's room). We went up to the beach at 10am (after breakfast) and took a cooler with snacks. We had sand toys and just being somewhere new was lots of fun for him. We stayed at the beach until lunch, then went back to the beach house for lunch and nap (we were on a private community beach so we left our chairs and umbrellas up when we left). After nap we would go back up to the beach and stay until just before dinner. Come home, shower/bath and then eat and chill until bedtime.

If you're going after Labor Day you might not be able to rent chairs or such since that's typically a summer thing.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Here's my packing list for a 2.5 yr old and 10 mo old for beach:
1 lg. blanket
2-3 beach towels
Sunscreen (I usually lather the kids up before we leave for the beach and then reapply with a spray/mist at the beach - the Coppertone Waterbabies stick is good for faces too)
Beach Umbrella - I have a plastic "anchor" that you screw into the ground to anchor the beach umbrella - it helps keep it from blowing away and it is much easier to put in the sand - I highly recommend getting one.
Cooler with juice boxes/water and sandwiches (ditto the earlier advice on sandwiches in quarters), goldfish or cheezits make good beach snacks too.
Swim diapers
Change of dry clothes for the car ride home.
Sand toys - a couple buckets, a couple shovels (one shovel big enough for you to dig a pit/sand fort - nothing makes my two yr old happier than sitting in a sand fort), a mesh bag for collecting shells, etc.
Sand chair(s) - One for me plus I have a kid-size sand chair that my 2-yr old insists I bring, but she never really sits in it . . .
Sun Hats
Crocs/Surf shoes for getting across the hot sand

That's the bulk of it. This year I bought a cart to haul all this stuff from the car to the beach and back. I love it (I bought the Wonder Wheeler from One Step Ahead with the wheeleez conversion kit from wheeleez.com), but it's a bit of an investment. Worth it though if you get to be a regular beach-goer.

Have fun!

we like Ocean City NJ
It is a great family Beach -no rowdiness, party problems, etc.
What to bring to the beach...I don't have much to add to the other advice, except:
**A plastic baggie to put shells in so the sand from them doesn't get all over the place
**The Sunscreen stickers made by Huggies to remind you when to repaet the sunscreen
**Beach Chairs
**Baggie for the camera
**OH!!!! I almost forgot, make sure you bring the hand sanitizer!
I just read on Web MD that the wet sand that is just at the ocean edge is loaded with bacteria, much higher than in the water itself or the dry sand farther away from the water. Don't know why, but that was the findings from lab tests at all beaches. It is very common to play in the sand, take a break, & eat a snack like crackers and forget about the sanitizer because it isn't a meal that you are eating, just a snack. Anyway, this makes it easy to get sick because of the bacteria still on your hands.

Hope this helps. Have a great time!

Mae,

I don't think your question is silly at all, though I'm not the best for suggestions. I have lived in this area all my life, but the beach was not something our family did. I have a 6 yr & 8 yr old son I'm still trying to get to the beach for their first time!!!

Cape May is an expensive area. I'm not sure exactly where you live, but I have a friend who has taken her 2 girls since they were very little to Pt. Pleasant Beach. She said it's nice for the kids as it has a boardwalk and doesn't have a long walk to the water from teh boardwalk. She said that it is very clean there.

I have only been to the beach myself a few times, but I would bring towels or blankets for on the beach or chairs from home. If you're taking a camera, be sure to bring a bag to keep it in when not taking pictures so the sand doesn't get in it & ruin it as the sand will get EVERYWHERE.

I would also suggest bringing towels to keep in the car to wipe your feet, etc. off before you get back into the car.

Other than comfortable shoes for walking in the sand (water shoes are great for that as you can walk down by the waters edge as the little waves come in for you to take your son into & let him get his feet wet).

Other than that, I'm not of much help.

Good luck & have a wonderful time.

B.