The conditions may not be ideal. There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to the conditions. If your toddler is anything like mine on a sunny day he refuses to wear sunglasses and keeps a hat on in 30 second increments. He will either need to get used to squinting or get better at keeping things on his head. Temperature is another condition that comes to play. If it is hot, that sand can get hot quickly. Toddlers don’t always understand this right away, especially when they have recently learned to walk. The water may also be colder than comfortable. The water may also be too rough for safe swimming. Go anyway. Just be prepared. 

Sunblock. You will need to put it on. Try to get it on somewhere away from the sand. Sand + sunscreen + busy toddler = chaffing where you don’t want it. 

Food. Pack it. Your toddler will get hungry while there, even if you just fed him. Mess free foods that they don’t have to touch are great for the beach, baby food pouches, yogurt pouches just to name a couple. 

What to wear. Not just your child, you. Have you ever been around a toddler while wearing a bathing suit? You will want a suit that he can’t easily expose anything on you that you don’t want the entire beach to see. Think about a cover up that is easy to put on and take off too. 

He may actually hate it. Yup. What you can’t see in this picture is that my poor little guy is crying. He hated the sand, the water was freezing, he straight up hated it all. We had been at the beach 8 months prior and he LOVED the sand and the water. I was so excited to take him back and he hated it.