5 kids beach essentials

On holiday we spent most of our time at the beach. The kids loved the freedom and there was so much fun to be had in the sea and sand. Here are my top 5 kids beach essentials to keep everyone smiling and safe

Sunsafe suits

You don't notice just how strong the sun is on the beach due to the breeze. Sunsafe suits cover up most of the kids bodies protecting them from damaging rays. They are lightweight and keep the kids cool. The hats are a must for protecting their heads - especially Little I who still doesn't have much hair!

Ladival sunscreen

Of course the sunsuits don't cover up their whole body. So a good, water resistant suncream is needed for their arms, legs, feet and face. Enter Lavidal. Not only does this suncream block UVA and UVB rays it also blocks Infrared-A Rays which make up 30% of the sun's rays. Infrared-A is potentially the most harmful as it is the only ray which penetrates through to the subcutis layer of the skin.

Ladival sent us factor 50 for the kids and factor 30 for the adults. The kids bottle lasted all holiday. We reapplied once during our visits to the beach (or the pool/aqua park). The adult bottle finished a lot quicker as there were 3 of us using it and we are substantially larger than the kiddies.

The kids did not burn at all - the combination of sunsuits and Ladival was a winner. The adults did not fair so well! None of us burnt whilst using the Ladival but when it ran out I bought some Spanish brand from the supermarket... Yep you guessed it, Mum and Husband burnt!

It is quite pricey at £20 a bottle (200ml) but it is currently half price at Boots!

ladival.co.uk

An umbrella with whirly spike thing to dig it into the sand (yes, that is the technical name)

Despite all the sun protection stuff above it is still really important to have some shade for the kids to limit their sun exposure to avoid sunstroke. We ate lunch and snacks in shade under the umberella. You probably have one of these nifty little spikes at home to keep your washing line in the ground. Well at the beach they are essential. We had 2 episodes of our umberella blowing across the beach before we ventured to the nearest shop to buy a spike for about 3€. Completely solved the problem.

Swim nappies

Little I is still in nappies so the beach can be a little messy! We took some Huggies Little Swimmers with us. These nappies don't swell up when wet like standard nappies. But at the same time they don't hold liquid in - so don't make the mistake we did of putting the nappy on at the house before we left to the beach! Haha! But they do hold in number 2's - just about. You need to get them off as soon as they have been! We had a couple of near misses when she performed without us realising so the nappy was left on a bit too long.

Little I is currently in size 4 nappies so we used size 3/4 but they were a little tight and really hard to get on so next time I would try the next size up. Little I seemed comfy in them though and they didn't mark her skin or cause any rashes or marks. Plus they have fun Disney designs on. They kept our fun at maximum all day long.

A pack of Little Swimmers cost £5.99 but they are also currently half price at Boots!

littleswimmers.co.uk

Inflatable boat

Little E is fearless in the water but Little I is a little more timid. She like us to hold onto her in the water, which can get a little tiring. An inflatable boat solves the problem. We pop her in and float her about!

Bucket and spade

It's a classic but an absolutely must. Little I seems intent on knocking down the sandcastle before we finished building it but that was all part of the fun!

Linking up to #triedtested at myfamilyfever.co.ukand goingonanadventure.co.uk #familytested at thegigglesfamily.com #maternitymondays at becomingastayathomemum.com #pocolo at vevivos.com