11 Beach Activities For Babies and Toddlers

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Many of my own fondest memories of childhood were created at the beach, and as soon as we became parents we longed to re-create them with our children.

Whether you’re planning on taking your toddlers to a sandy beach, pebble beach, or a seaside harbour, it’s important to have a few fun activities planned out to help them foster their love for all things beach-related, and of course to keep them amused and happy. We’re lucky to live on an island in the UK, we’re never far from the beach. Even if you don’t have a car, you can always look for BMW lease deals near you, we’ve done that before we had our own car when visiting family further afield. What I like about these activities is that they all involve little or no baggage and no extra expenditure. Here are 7activities that can help create giggle-filled moments and nurture your kids’ creativity, curiosity, and spirit for adventure while on the beach:

1.    Sand sculptures

No family trip to the beach is complete without this classic activity for the entire family to enjoy. While it’s popular to build sand castles, you can also let your toddlers’ imagination run wild and make them create their own sea monsters, animals, or favorite objects.

Once they’ve built their sculptures—kids being kids—they will probably enjoy knocking them down as well, so you can turn that into a game or competition. Use props from the beach like shells, sticks, and seaweed to make silly faces or flags for your castle turrets.

2.    Treasure hunt

Supply your toddlers with a list and a container for an exciting beach treasure hunt. Have your kids hunt for small objects like shells, rocks, round objects, color-specific items, feathers—you name it. Alternatively, you can bring some small items and trinkets from home, hide them on the beach yourself, or even bury them and make a simple hidden treasure map for your kids. Put two sticks over the buried treasure for X marks the spot!

3.    Dunking and dipping

This seaside game is a relay race that you play with little cups and bigger buckets. Have your toddlers run to shallow water and fill up their small cups, then run back again to empty them into their large bucket. The first one to fill their bucket is the winner.

4.    Musical towels

Going to the beach, it’s normal for us to bring a bundle of towels and our smartphones. For this activity, however, you’ll want to prepare in advance and transfer some fun kiddie songs for this beach version of “musical chairs.”

Much like the popular musical chair game, players dance around to music and once the music stops playing, the players have to run and sit on the nearest towel. With each round, the number of people and towels decrease until there’s only one player standing as the winner.

5.    Hit the target

Kids like aim-and-throw games, and on the beach, there are a variety of these activities that will improve your little one’s concentration.

You can place a bucket your kids need to shoot down, or you can even draw a circle target in the sand and have your kids shoot for the middle of the main circle. Use stones or shells for the ammo.

6.    Digging and burying

Every child enjoys digging in the sand. Get your kids to see how deep a hole they can dig, and when they’ve reached their maximum, you can place them in and have them bury their own feet. Depending on how big of a hole your kids are digging, see if you can lie down and fit in it and have them bury your body with your head sticking out.

7.    Ball games

One of the all-time favorite items most families bring to the beach is a ball. Whether it is a small ball or a big one, there are a plethora of games you can play with it, all the way from a simple beach ball toss to a beach version of popular sports like football, golf, volleyball, bowling, basketball, dodgeball, and many others.

8.    Pirate Ship

Invest in an inflatable dinghy or boat. It can be your own personal pirate ship, the advantage for babies and toddlers is that it can be their own little playpen out of the sand, you can have their toys and food in it and they’ll be safe and dry. Alternatively, a paddling pool works the same way. You can also use it in the water of course and it grows with them.

9.    Beach Tent

Baby and toddler skin is so delicate in the sun, so a small tent that protects them against the suns UV rays is a godsend. It also doubles up as a wind protector and is great if they need to nap.

10.   Kite

If it’s a windy day, a kite is always captivating for big and little kids. That feeling of getting the kite to fly and chase the air currents is like no other, and you will have all the kids on the beach watching.

11.    Crabbing

Bring a bucket and a crabbing kit, especially if there is a harbour wall or jetty. You dangle the string with some bait on the end and see if you can snag a crab or two. It’s an easy introduction to fishing for the kids, and if they catch something it will give them a great sense of achievement. You can always go rock pooling for little tiddler fish, starfish and crabs. I kept a piece of seaweed as a pet for a week once on holiday!

The beach is the perfect place for kids to create fun and lasting memories

Providing your kids with a happy childhood is fairly easy, especially if you give them plenty of time to play and enjoy. And there’s no better place for kids to be kids than on the beach. Just keep in mind that safety still comes first, so always make sure there’s a capable adult who can supervise and look after the little ones while they’re busy enjoying the beach as much as they can.

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