Sand at the Beach

I've been taking my kids to the beach as early as 8 days old. My husband and I surf so we go to the beach a lot. I've never heard of baby powder getting sand off... Sand will easlily brush off dry skin. Its when your skin is wet that it sticks. Though dumping water on it also takes much of it off. My biggest tip is to accept that you will have sand everywhere. If you have little, little ones, keep a bottle of water close to pour on your hands or their face if they get sand in their eyes and keep one towel out of the sand (hang it on an umbrella or something if possible) to dry hands and faces. Teach older kids to "gum" food instead of touching teeth when chewing to cut down on the grit between teeth. Throw everyone under a shower on the way out. If there is no shower, take a big jug of water, leave it in the car (gets warm) or outside the hotel/condo to wash the sand off. Always put sunscreen on before getting there...otherwise you end up rubbing sand all over your kids. Wetsuits are great for keeping sand out of sensitive areas if you are going to cold water beaches...but honestly I don't think sand bothers kids too much, only when they get chaffing, which if they do, put some vasaline on it the next couple of days (it will attract sand, but won't add to the chaffing), or you could get some body glide anti chaffing stuff. A dunk in the ocean will get you back to square one, you just have to keep kids off the sand until they dry...a large beach blanket is good for this...you just may need to shake it off MANY times during the day.
Water tips...if you get caught in a rip tide (meaning you are swimming or floating and are getting pushed out too far) swim parallel to the beach before trying to swim back in, otherwise you are swimming against a current and will tire out quickly. You can always ask lifeguards (if they are there) where rip tides/currents are that day. When playing in the waves, if a big one is coming and you don't want to get clobbered...dive under it, or if it is shallow enough (and the wave isn't too big), jump up and into it.
Have fun!!!

Hi K.. I can't think of anything in regards to sand at the beach, but I did want to say that my sister who just turned 50 years old finally saw the beach in Florida this past spring. I first saw the ocean at the age of 21. I'm now 47 and have been living on the California coast for years. My grandmother who died in her 90's never did see the ocean so your kids are not alone. :)

Hi K. -- My biggest tip is just to wait until everything is totally dry and then beach sand will just brush right off. And it doesn't leave a dirty residue, either, like sand from the park or from my daughter's school. Have a GREAT time!!

Hi K.!
Don't be embarassed that they haven't been to the beach! I am hoping to take them when we go to Lemos Farm. :-) Unless you want to experience that "first" with them. The only thing that will keep sand off is to let it dry and brush it off. Maybe bring a really soft paint brush to brush them off before going in the hotel or house. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about it. Kids don't really care where the sand is they just want to have fun. Relax and have fun with them! See you next week!