24 Tips for a Better Beach Day With Your Kid

Sea breezes, sunshine, the gentle sound of waves—oh, yeah, and your toddler screaming because he just tried to eat sand. Going to the beach with kids is an adventure, whether they are six months or 16 years. But with a little patience and preparation, family beach days can be some of the best days.

From sun protection to the best types of towels to pack, here are the best tips I've found to avoid the no-good, very bad beach days—and have fun instead.

Go early—or go late.

If you have young children, it's in your best interest to get up and at 'em early or head there postnap, for late-afternoon seaside bonding. This way you can avoid spending a huge chunk of time at the beach in the middle of the day, when UV rays are strongest. You can also work around your child's sleep schedule, which parents of young children know is clutch. It can make or break your beach day—or any day.

Master the art of sunscreen.

The best way to apply SPF (for kids and adults) is to slather it on at home, applying it approximately 15 minutes before going outdoors. Our editors love Neutrogena Beach Defense, for it's broad spectrum coverage, but experts say you should choose a sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or higher and is water resistant.

Build your own oasis.

You may have gotten by without a sun umbrella in your younger days, but now that you have kids, you need to build a shade fortress. My family's setup has evolved to include an umbrella and a tent so we have enough room for everyone to be fully protected while they eat and play.

Fill your car with (frozen) bottles of water.

Before you leave your house, freeze a bunch of bottles of water—and then pack them into your car. While these beverages won't be good for the ride to the beach, they will be ready to consume at the end of the day (when you need them most).

Bring a blanket or beach chair.

While older children—and teens and tweens—will certainly spend time in beach chairs, if you are the parent of a younger child, you may want to reconsider carting (yet another) item with you to the water's edge.

"I haven't sat down at the beach in six years!" says Ayn-Monique Klahre, a mom of two in Raleigh, North Carolina, who takes her daughters on at least two beach vacations each year.

If you have a child who is active and prefers to sit and play in the sand, a blanket may be a better choice.

Discover Turkish towels.

Turkish towels are lightweight, flat-woven towels (sometimes called peshtemal, hammam, or fouta towels) that take up a lot less space in your beach bag than their terry-cloth counterparts. But trust us, they are still soft enough to make kids feel cozy after a dip.

Try a sand-friendly tote.

A mesh beach bag is indispensable: Sand sifts right through, and you can see what's inside. The Mesh Whale Bag has pockets for all your gear.

Don’t forget a mallet.

This handy tool will let you pound the umbrella or tentpoles into the sand so there's less danger of your sun shelter blowing away.

Carry on.

We used a baby carrier at the shore long after we'd stopped using it in other places because sand is so hard for early walkers and strollers to navigate.

Be ready to potty.

If you're early in potty training, bring a travel potty and a swim diaper so you can enjoy the beach without worrying about number two.

Refer to the swim diaper as "beach pants" rather than telling your newly potty-trained kid you're putting him in a diaper, suggests mom Jen L'Italien, an Oh Crap! Potty Trainingcertified consultant.

Bag it.

Audra Krieg, founder of the Outer Banks Mom blog, prefers a soft-sided cooler bag to a hard-sided one. It's easier to tote, and if you opt for an 18-can model like Krieg does, you've got room for lunch for the whole fam. Plus, with a soft cooler, you can use every inch, unlike rigid coolers.

Pack sand-proof snacks.

Squeeze pouches of applesauce and yogurt are smart bets. Grapes and blueberries beat cut-up fruit because if they get sandy, you can still rinse them off. Cut sammies into small pieces so if one gets sandy, the whole sandwich isn't wrecked. Pre-portioned snack bags are also a great choice. Everything from chips and Goldfish to fruit snacks and granola come packaged in this manner.

Compartmentalize your grub.

Another way to avoid sandy snacks: "Pack them in small, individual bags instead of one big bag to keep little hands from ruining it all," says Krieg. She recommends reusable snack bags or containers to prevent plastic bags from flying away.

Bring twice as much food as you think you’ll need.

Much of it is guaranteed to get sandy or wet no matter how careful you are. And kids get hungry when they've been active outside!

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Know that kids need to be reminded to drink enough. On beach days I bring a water bottle filled with "juicy water," a half-H20, half-juice combo, to entice our son to sip more.

Gabe Saglie, a Los Angeles dad of three and a senior editor at Travelzoo, swears by juice boxes, and Karen Cicero, a freelance writer and editor, loves watermelon for its hydrating properties.

Use concessions as incentives.

Don't let treats be taken for granted.

"If you want your kids to do, or not do, something, like wear a hat or put on sunscreen, a stop at the ice-cream shop or the shaved-ice cart can be a powerful bribe," says Saglie.

Be selective about beach toys.

All the parents I spoke to agreed that you don't need a huge arsenal of playthings. A bucket and a shovel for each child are enough. Two standout favorites: large, wood-handled shovels for digging big holes, and Melissa & Doug's sand-ice-cream set.

"We had to buy it twice because other kids kept taking it," says Meagan Ouderkirk, cofounder of the tennis- and golf-clothing brand Hedge, whose three daughters spend the summer at the beach each year.

For infants and young toddlers, a small inflatable pool positioned inside your beach tent is a great way to provide water play out of the sun. (Bring a bucket to fill it.)

• RELATED: How to Prevent Child Drowning: A Must-Read Guide for Parents

Don’t count on a nap.

I'd estimate my kid clocked more than 50 beach days by his third birthday, and he has napped at the beach a sum total of once. I'm not alone. None of the other parents I interviewed had a child who regularly naps at the beach.

Time your trip to the tide.

"Low tide is our favorite time to visit the beach," says fashion stylist Annie Caruso, a mom from the beachside town of Leonardo, New Jersey.

Plan to arrive an hour before low tide for optimal tide-pool exploration, but be sure to park your gear far enough from the water's edge that you won't get wet as the tide comes in.

Share a page-turner.

Bring a children's novel, like Matilda or Charlotte's Web, to read aloud when the kids are eating or need a break, suggests Ouderkirk.

Choose beaches with extras.

Look for built-in entertainment, such as boogie-board rentals, boat rides, or food vendors, says mom and Airbnb host Saskia Conti, of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Or figure out what is going on just off the beach. Maybe you can rent bikes, visit a shop or a restaurant, or hike a nature preserve.

"A beach that gives you extra activities extends the beach-day experience," says Saglie.

Try baby powder for less mess.

We all know sand gets everywhere—and I mean everywhere—but if you're looking for a way to reduce the mess try dusting a little baby powder on your legs and feet at the end of the day. This helps remove sand, keeping it out of your car.

Bring a change of clothes.

Planning to change into clothes before you head home? Pack everyone’s clothes (and underwear) into individual, gallon size Ziploc bags with their names on it. This keeps everything neat and tidy and gives you a bag to store wet bathing suits in.

Pack like a pro.

Consider this your go-to beach checklist. Run through it before you pull out of the driveway:

• Multiple sunscreens, in case of a sand or spill disaster (It helps to have options — stick, spray, lotion — if your kid is fussy about reapplying.)
• Zip-top bags to store sunscreen, wet bathing suits, and more
• Beach hats, sunglasses, and cover-ups
• Water bottles
• Small bills for the ice-cream truck
• Baby wipes and antibacterial hand wipes
• A mini first-aid kit of bandages, alcohol wipes, and antibacterial ointment packed in a zip-top bag