Gear, Etc Needed at the Beach for a Young Toddler?

You guys will love it. We just moved back here after living on Florida's west coast for 3 years. The most important thing is shelter from the sun... you will need a good umbrella or other shelter for her and baby sunblock (they make tear-free so it doesn't sting her eyes) and bottles of water.

Be prepared for sand to be EVERYWHERE. The fine powder sand sticks to everything. Park near a wash station so you can rinse off before you change her diaper and get in the car!

Buckets and shovels are always fun, she will like filling and dumping the buckets. Ryan used to love walking along the shore where the water would barely lap up on his feet. The noise can be a bit frightening at first for them but they get over it. :o)

It's a beautiful time of year there right now. You guys will have so much fun.

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We've taken our 20 month old twice already. He loves the beach. He still looks as pictures from our trip and points and says "sand" or "beach". He likes to wear his beach hat around the house, etc - loved it! We went once to a Gulf beach at 13 months and the next time to the Virgin Islands at 18 months. I suggest, of course, sunscreen, bucket-style beach hat, blow up beach ball, bucket, shovel, many towels - we dipped him naked in the water, dried him off (towel #1), laid him on the seat of the car (needed another towel because he was still sandy, towel #2), throw in another for good measure (towel #3), and then towels for the adults. If you are in a house that is beach-front, this will be much easier. I would not take more toys than what I mentioned above. At this age, my son really loved playing with the rocks and things he found along the beach much better than the actual beach toys. Have fun!

We took my daughter to the beach when she turned 1 and the best things for us was a blow-up pool and baby powder. The surf can be rough, so what we did was dug out a spot on the beach near our blanket and filled up a small blowup pool for her. She was able to splash and play and we were more relaxed. and Baby powder works wonders at getting all the sticky sand off. Have fun!

If she's a go getter she will jump right in. If she is shy you may have to ease her into it. Either way once she is there for a bit she will have a great time. We took my daughter to the beach for the first time when she was 13 months. She loved playing in the pool and the beach was just a bigger extention of that. I suggest lots of buckets and shovels. We got my daughter a beach bucket set there that had all she needed. Lots of sunscreen, a hat and her best bikini! She will have a great time.

Good advise below!! Be careful of sand everywhere- she may put sandy fingers on her mouth and eyes- bottled water can be good quick fix if you are not too close to the water. Also be careful the waves are strong and may upset her even sitting down. I am sure it will be a new and exciting experience for everyone- enjoy your trip!