11 Fun Things To Do With Kids At The Beach
As soon as you arrive at the beach, your kids will quickly run through their favorite activities - digging holes, dipping a toe in the ocean, and eating ice cream.
But what do you do when they start getting a little bored?
Luckily, it’s easy to keep kids endlessly entertained on a beach trip when you have some fun and unusual activities planned. In this post, we’ll show you eleven fun things you can do with your kids at the beach to make it a day to remember.
Important Safety Tips
Before we jump into the best activities for kids at the beach, let’s cover a few quick safety tips to keep your little ones safe during your trip.
- Be wary of currents - even if the sea looks calm, it’s so easy to get dragged out. If you’re swimming or using floaties, keep an eye on where you are in relation to the coast, so you know you’re not drifting.
- Choose a beach with a lifeguard - they’re your safety net if you do get into trouble in the ocean.
- Keep hydrated - it’s tough getting kids to take breaks at the beach, but the last thing you want is for your children to suffer from dehydration.
- Get waterproof shoes - beaches can have hidden dangers in the sand, and rocks are sharp out in the sea. Having shoes on your kids is always best.
- Reapply sunscreen - don’t forget to reapply sunscreen every couple of hours to stay protected.
- Stay in the shade - whenever you’re sitting down, make sure your kids are in the shade. They’re much more likely to suffer from sunstroke with too much direct sun.
Whether you’re visiting Miami Beach or the tropical coasts of Thailand, staying safe on the beach with your kids is so important to have the best time on your trip.
Things To Do With Kids At The Beach
If you’re looking for fun activities to keep your kids entertained on your next beach trip, here are eleven ideas.
Sea Life Exploration
Kids love to explore, and what better place than the beach? Take a walk along the shore and look at the rockpools, vegetation, and marine life. It’s a great opportunity to teach your kids something new and get them interested in their surroundings.
Picnicking
Pack your favorite snacks and drinks, roll out a towel, and have a family picnic on the beach. Make sure to sit under an umbrella to get some much-needed shade and enjoy the view while your kids snack on ice cream and sandwiches.
To really get your kids involved, have them help you prepare and pack the picnic before you set off.
Beach Scavenger Hunt
Put together a list of things you usually find at the beach and turn it into a scavenger hunt for your kids! If they find all the items, offer a reward of ice cream or their favorite treat.
Stuck on what to include in your scavenger hunt? Here are some ideas:
- A sand castle
- A rock pool
- A kite
- A seashell
- A surfboard
- A boat
- Seaweed
- A fish
Set up a mini inflatable pool
Many kids find the sand overwhelming at the beach. If your children hate the feeling of wet sand stuck to their feet, a mini inflatable pool will be your best friend.
“Fill up a mini inflatable pool with sea water and keep it in the shade of an umbrella. Toddlers love playing in the water, and you won’t have any tears over wet sand stuck to their feet. This is also a handy way to wash off before you leave the beach and saves your car getting plastered in the sand on the way home.” - Sarah from Toddler Trips
Flying a Kite
If the beach is a little windy, most people think their day is ruined. But it’s actually the best opportunity to fly a kite with your kids. Most supply stores near beaches sell kids’ kites, and they’ll have a blast running up and down the sand to get it to fly.
Volleyball
Most volleyball setups on beaches are a little big for kids, but you don’t need a net to have a game on the beach. Draw a line in the sand to act as the net and grab a spare ball.
Your kids will have a great time learning how to volley the ball back to you, and it’s a fun way to bond.
Boogie boarding
If your kids are a little older, boogie boarding is a fun activity in the water. It might take a while for them to get to grips with staying on the board, but it’s easy enough to hoist them on and then let them belly-board into the shallows on the smaller waves.
There are usually local shops that rent boogie boards, which saves you the time and money of buying one and transporting it home with you.
Bird watching
Take a pair of binoculars and see if you can spot coastal birds around the beach. Seagulls will be easy, but there might be some rarer birds to spot, depending on where you are in the world.
This one is a nice quiet activity and another opportunity to teach your kids about the local wildlife. Plus, they’ll love having the task of spotting birds flying by. If you can, get a couple of pictures up on your phone to show them what they’re looking for.
Sandcastle Building
The sky is the limit when it comes to building sand castles. Grab a bucket and spade or get creative with just your hands and build a structure with your little ones. Kids always love building sand castles, and they’ll love sharing the experience with you.
For something a little different, try drip sand castle building. Go down near the water where you can get a handful of soaking wet sand and some seawater, and then slowly let it drip from your hand onto the dry sand. It’ll dry as it hits the ground and forms pretty stalagmites you can build up into cool structures.
Beachcombing
Beachcombing involves searching through the sand for valuable items. If you have a metal detector, you can take this one to a whole other level. But you could also spend some time beachcombing for pretty shells to take home as a memento.
Play Beach Games
There are so many beach games you can play with your kids, but here are a few favorites:
- Musical towels - like musical chairs, but with beach towels.
- Water relay - place some big buckets near your seating area and then have your kids race to the water with smaller cups to see who can fill their bucket first.
- Hopscotch, tic-tac-toe, and noughts and crosses etched in the sand.
- Beach bowling - set up some water bottles filled with sand and see if your kids can knock them down with a ball.
Conclusion
Spending the day at the beach is endless fun, and when you have an arsenal of games and activities in your pocket, you’ll never have to worry about your kids getting bored.
Try a couple of these activities next time you’re at the beach and see which ones your kids love most.