Ten Ways to Keep Baby safe and Comfortable at the Beach

If your baby is very little he or she will not appreciate the beach, but if you want to go for yourself or other children, there are things to bear in mind. You want this to be a happy time. Older babies who are crawling need more consideration. Below I will warn you of the pitfalls and pleasures.I'm a Granny who has just been on holiday with my eight-month -old Grandson and I've seen the problems which can arise, but you will be pleased to know we survived to go on to other adventures.

Grannies are great for carrying all those bags of essential equipment for littl'un. While you concentrate on the baby she can help out with the other things. Of course Granny has been through it all before and is perhaps a bit more aware of what precautions need to be taken at the beach. But the wise Granny will keep many of her observations to herself as Mom has great instincts too. But why do all the worrying yourself when Granny can take on some of the work load?

Below are lots of strollers plus an all important sunshade. You will need this as a safe place to keep baby away from problems. You need to know baby can't wander off when you are having to deal with other siblings. Watching the family will keep baby interested and when he's tired he can take a nap in the comfort of his familiar stroller.

When you need to feed baby you can give him his solid food while he sits in his pram, without the sand getting into it. When he's had enough of the beach you can wheel him along the promenade and probably this is when he will sleep.

You want to remember baby's first visit to the beach, so take lots of photos. Below are some super cameras to choose from. I use the Canon IXUS 990 IS. It is a very good small camera, just right for slipping in your pocket and ready to use quickly to capture those precious moments.I guess I've had it a while and that's why I couldn't find it on Amazon, but I've listed some similar cameras.

Many things in life are spoilt by trying to get the last ounce out of them when it is really time to move on to other experiences. Time at the beach for the family with a small baby is best kept short. The small baby will not be too concerned about the sand, sea and scenery and will be more interested in his comfort.

Don't turn what is a beautiful day into a nightmare of sand in his nappy and sunburn on his arms. I will tell you how to avoid these further down.

As I add these comments we are experiencing quite a heat wave in Britain and it has made we realize that lots of you have this weather lots of the time. Really hot weather is a health risk for young babies. You must keep them as cool as you can and this may mean foregoing a visit to the beach and having water play in a shady garden instead. Make sure baby is getting enough fluids also. Many of you will have air conditioning in your houses ( a rarity here in Britain). Far better to keep baby happy in your home on a baking day. You can choose a cooler day to enjoy the beach.

Is It Really Advisable to take Baby to the Beach ?

If possible take baby off the immediate beach in his stroller and feed him his solids from a jar. Have some spare in case a gust of wind brings sand your way. If you are breast feeding, if you are modest retire to your car and feed baby there, or you could take one of the shawls featured below to discreetly feed baby, or invest in a tent for added privacy and a place out of the wind and sand.

A baby sling would be most helpful on the beach. Baby is kept close to you and you can take a good walk for you and the rest of the family. I have had personal experience of the Ergo sling below - Ergo performance grey. It sits comfortably on the hips and shoulders and is easy to take on and off on one's own. A baby is never happier than when carried in one of these by either parent.

If your seaside is suitably shallow and calm, by all means let baby crawl in the water. Let him do it in the nude. A little one who has started to crawl would enjoy this experience, and it would be a pleasure to watch. Another time for photos, so long as there is an adult to help junior. Again this is a time to make sure you do not stay too long, especially as all that lovely baby skin is exposed to the sun. No longer than ten minute's exposure is recommended. This will be dealt with in our two most important suggestions.

If you have a crawling baby and you want him to get some exercise, don't let him or her loose on the dry uneven sand, or he is bound to take a nose dive into all that grit and get it in his eyes, mouth and nose. That is when the extra water you brought will save the day. To avoid such an incident take baby to the firm sand where he can crawl on a firm flat surface. You will still need to be attentive as baby is bound to want to dig up and taste a lump of this new texture.

It is so important to keep your baby protected from sunburn. Although the right clothes are still more important and may negate the need for blocker, you do need to have some to use. The pain of sunburn is to be avoided at all costs quite apart from the long term health issues. Below is a selection of sunscreens. Long term exposure to the sun is not recommended although baby needs some to gain vitamin D.

Baby will need a hat to protect his head, face and neck from the sun. Below we have a good selection. We recently used a mud pie type hat and this worked well. Also baby had a t-shirt which covered his shoulders and tops of his arms and body.

Long sleeves would have been good as baby did get a little sunburn even so on his lower arms, although it had faded two days later, but this shows how careful you need to be. Long trousers and socks are also recommended. Little feet protruding from a sling could get badly burned without socks.

So now we have completed our ten tips. I hope you have found them useful and that you will have a happy time at the beach with your baby.