Sunny summer days spent playing and splashing at the beach can quickly become some of your toddler’s fondest memories. They’ll look back on these days and place them among the best and most fun times they enjoyed when they were little.
If they’re like many people, they’ll never outgrow their love for the beach. With some creative beach ideas and by bringing along a few items to create fun things to do, you help to foster their love for all things water and beach inspired.
See Also: 15 Fun Swimming Pool Games for Kids
Our Favorite Fun Toddler Beach Ideas
Besides traditional beach activities like building sandcastles, digging in the sand and searching for seashells, sometimes playing a good time giggle-filled beach game can help to pass the time and create amazing memories.
Since it’s easy to lose track of time when having fun, make sure at a minimum to apply plenty of sunscreen on them. For even better sun protection, a good rash guard and sun hat are great to have at this age.
Here are 12 of our most inspired activities to keep little ones thoroughly entertained at the beach.
Table of Contents
1. Musical Towels
Who doesn’t love the excitement of a rousing game of musical chairs? This version uses towels instead of chairs as it inspires laughter. Bring along towels and a source of music like your smart phone with speakers or a radio.
You can find good musical chairs songs to use in the form of Youtube musical chair song videos and beach songs like Surfin’ USA
2. Sand “Snowman”
Build a snowman from sand using a variety of sand toys for arms and a small sand bucket for a top hat. You can also use twigs, small rocks, seashells, shell pieces and other small objects you find during beach-combing to add extra flair to your creation
3. Beach Skeeball
Here you can take the premise of your favorite Skeeball arcade game and recreate it at the beach. All you need are shovels to dig two trenches, and then build a sand pile at the end. Your finished creation will look like a bowling lane.
Dig a hole into the sand pile so your little game players can roll balls into the hole. You can use small or medium sized plastic balls, or even whiffle balls, that are easy for little hands to hold and toss
4. Beach Ball Toss
Beach balls are always colorful, fun accessories to bring to the beach. This version of beach ball toss uses a towel held at the ends by two excited little ones and a beach ball placed in the center.
Pop the ball up into the air for squeals of excitement and peals of laughter as little ones chase the ball around
5. Beach Tent
Build a fun tent or a beach fort using towels and branches you’ve found to create a fun little hideaway to spark imaginations and encourage creative play
6. Dunking and Dipping Fun
This beach game is a relay race that is played with small cups and large buckets. Players run to fill up their tiny cups with water and run again to dump it into their large bucket. The first player to fill up their bucket is the winner
7. Cookie Cutter Shapes
Bring along plastic cookie cutters, so little fingers can’t be injured, to use as creative beach tools. Let imaginations run free making shapes and creating pictures in the sand
8. Sand and Shell Art
Create sand art and spell out simple words for toddlers using seashells, shell pieces, small stones and other beach-combing finds
9. Beach Bowling
Use a shovel to dig six holes into the sand in the shape of the pyramid. Kids can then roll tennis balls into the holes to score points, or they can simply have fun getting the balls in the holes
10. Sandy Construction Site
Toddlers love it when you bring along small dump trucks, diggers and other construction toys so they can have fun creating their very own construction site
11. Beach Mini Golf
You can create a fun mini golf course using shovels to dig holes in the sand and rolling tennis or small plastic balls into the holes. This becomes even more like a miniature golf game when you create hills and slopes to make it more challenging
12. Treasure Hunt
Bury small objects and trinkets like pretend coins and fake jewelry in assorted places to create your very own beach treasure hunt. Then, have kids search for the treasures.
You can create a simple treasure map for toddlers or a more complicated map for older kids using landmarks and hints for where to find the treasure
When you plan a day at the beach, you want activities to thrill and entertain kids, but you also want to give them things to do that will inspire their imaginations and spark creative ideas.
These fun beach games and activities will keep little ones smiling, laughing and running for hours. Creating fun memories is one of the best things about a sunshine filled day at the beach.
See also: 17 Activities Where a Life Jacket Should Be Worn
Beach Activities and Ideas that Build Skills and Add Delight
Keep in mind and in your cache of beach ideas the thought of bringing along a small, inflatable swimming pool. It’s easy to blow up and then you can have kids help fill the pool by using small plastic sand buckets.
Put a bit of sand in the bottom of the pool and you’ve created a special mini beach that gives even your smallest beach goers a safe, fun place to play.
One of our favorite baby beach tents even has its own little mini-pool. Though it may be a bit too small for some toddlers.
Kids don’t even know they’re working on important things like small motor skills, the specialized skills involved in lifting and lowering objects, creativity, coordination, agility and balance. They just know they’re having a super fun day at the beach.
Creative beach ideas don’t have to be expensive or complicated. Simple things like small plastic toys can work wonders. Well thought out beach games teach kids the importance of working together cooperatively and of getting along with others.
With a bit of thought and planning, everyone will look forward to spending warm summer days at the beach.
