Advice needed from those who spend hours at the beach with your kids!

[Katie Dawn]

Hello Fellow Dis'ers! I have two 11 year olds (1 boy, 1 girl). For past beach trips we have stayed in "high traffic" areas at a hotel with a gazillion pools: indoor and outdoor lazy rivers, splash pad, the huge bucket that fills up and dumps on your head, a big twirly water slide... You get the idea. We did that because while my kids like the beach they get bored with it pretty quick and we have tended to stay the pools longer each day than the beach.

We went a different route this year and are trying out the gulf coast which is has been recommended to be us for it's beautiful beaches and time and time again. We're at a condo in Gulf Shores with one little pool. We've made plans to go out and do more things (we've chartered a small boat for a dolphin your and will try snorkeling for the first time,) maybe visit or of the forts, go to a zoo type place.

Despite our "field trips" I think we'll still be down at the beach more than past trips. So my question, as rudimentary as it may seem, is what do your kids enjoy doing at the beach? We always: *Make sand castles
*Boogey board
*Just general playing/swimming in the ocean
*Walk along the beach especially at night looking for seashells and creatures

None of those activities last long though. I think my daughter would enjoy reading under an umbrella but my son will not go for that (ha ha). I've bought a kite. I'm wondering if I could buy an inexpensive kit (like those brick shaped molds) that would allow us to make a more complicated sand castle? Any sand castle making tips?

Are there other things you've done with your kids around that age? It may just be that we're not "hang out on the beach for hours" people, but I can't help but feel like there's more fun activities that we haven't done.
Thanks!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My son was all about sports. So when we went on trips like that, or even to local beaches, we had to have balls to toss around in the water, frisbees, whiffle ball equipment, or little helicopters to fly, etc. (Obviously he had to be safely away from people to use some of these.) He was not one to just sit and do nothing (the way we were!). One thing I noticed about boys, especially, is that they can often attract a group just by tossing a football around or something like that - other kids will join in.

I remember being at the Dolphin once, where three of us wanted to nap, but he was awake. Even though he’s shy, I convinced him to go to the Spa where they keep balls and other play equipment, and get a soccer ball, so he did. I could see him out on the beach from our room window. Within a short time he was tossing the ball around with a group. Even when he was little, little the ball trick always worked at playgrounds.

I hope you have a great trip! I would also look into a small portable fire pit if those are allowed there.

 

[NotUrsula]

Be aware that a lot of beaches around Gulf Shores are suffering pretty severe erosion, and have narrowed up considerably. You can still fly a kite, but there are some areas where castle building (and the holes that come with it) have been restricted because of the need to be able to have EMS vehicles drive along the shoreline in an emergency.

How do your kids feel about fishing, or crabbing? The fishing in that area is really great, so that's another option for fun. Kids under 16 can fish without a license, if the adults want to fish, order ahead online, or build in a stop at Walmart to pick up a license. Crabbing is best in early summer. (And truly easy; all you need is some line and a few chicken necks to entertain kids, though an actual crab trap works much better. Crabs like to hang out under and near structures, so you can usually catch them near piers and breakwaters. Crabs under 5 inches across must be thrown back, but bigger Blues are truly delicious!) You can also go out with red-covered flashlights and catch ghost crabs on the sand at night; that species are not edible.

Fires on the beach are not a good idea. Restrictions are tight and permits are required, and if it is turtle nesting season they are not allowed.

 

[wdwfan51]

Not sure when or where you are going but it is turtle nesting season here where I live. If you are going to build sand castles or dig holes it is best to level the sand before you go in for the night. They are obstacles for the turtles. Hope you all have an enjoyable trip.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

Games like ladder ball, bocce ball, and muckers are really fun to play on the beach.

 

[easyas123]

My kids would get up at 4 AM to go surf fishing till we made them come in at night...they still do that on occasion! So long as they had fishing poles they were happy.

 

[kcool]

My kids could spend forever using one of the sand sifters (usually comes with the sand toy sets). I loved it too!

 

[AppleDumpling]

Beach activities:
dig a big hole
make sand sculptures
bury someone in sand
draw in wet sand with a stick, play tic-tac-toe
collect shells, sea glass, driftwood
scavenger hunt
beach volleyball if there’s a net, or just with a beach ball
beach ball toss with towels (see how long you can keep it off the ground)
tug of war
frisbee, trac-ball, zoom ball, Nerf football

 

[anniemae]

Like others have said, my kids enjoyed beach games. We would get badminton, frisbees, balls etc. They also liked sitting under the umbrella reading and snacking. We would bring lots of drinks and snacks. They always had fun picking out special things to eat that we didn't normally eat at home. Collecting shells and sea glass was always a hit too.

 

[martikus]

We don’t do beach vacations because we can’t spend hours. But when we go bocce ball is good off a hour. And boogie
Boards.

 

[SirDuff]

Be aware that a lot of beaches around Gulf Shores are suffering pretty severe erosion, and have narrowed up considerably. You can still fly a kite, but there are some areas where castle building (and the holes that come with it) have been restricted because of the need to be able to have EMS vehicles drive along the shoreline in an emergency.

How do your kids feel about fishing, or crabbing? The fishing in that area is really great, so that's another option for fun. Kids under 16 can fish without a license, if the adults want to fish, order ahead online, or build in a stop at Walmart to pick up a license. Crabbing is best in early summer. (And truly easy; all you need is some line and a few chicken necks to entertain kids, though an actual crab trap works much better. Crabs like to hang out under and near structures, so you can usually catch them near piers and breakwaters. Crabs under 5 inches across must be thrown back, but bigger Blues are truly delicious!) You can also go out with red-covered flashlights and catch ghost crabs on the sand at night; that species are not edible.

Fires on the beach are not a good idea. Restrictions are tight and permits are required, and if it is turtle nesting season they are not allowed.

Please tell me that that is a typo/auto-correct??

 

[easyas123]

Please tell me that that is a typo/auto-correct??

That’s not a auto correct, chicken necks in a hand line are common ways to crab in many places.

 

[mrodgers]

Went to Ocean City every year as a kid from 3 years old. I don't remember the very young days, but all I remember is I went out in the water, came in for lunch, back out, back in for showers and dinner/roaming around the shops. Every day for a week every summer until I was 16 with my first job.

 

[SirDuff]

That’s not a auto correct, chicken necks in a hand line are common ways to crab in many places.

Guess you do learn something new everyday. Not sure one can even buy chicken necks here.

 

[kdonnel]

I think you have to have kids that enjoy spending hours at the beach, I did not.

The worst fights between my wife and I were triggered by trying to stay at the beach longer than the kids wanted to stay at the beach.

I remember our first Disney Cruise. Getting off the ship at Castaway Cay in one of the first groups, making our way to the perfect spot on the beach, and 30 minutes later our 3 year old declaring she was done.

Smart parents would have packed up and left, we were not smart parents. We had the most miserable 3 hours as we tried to stay.

Eventually we figured out our kids were not beach people and did not plan trips that involved hours and hours at the beach.

Good luck!

 

[easyas123]

Guess you do learn something new everyday. Not sure one can even buy chicken necks here.

ha ha! Around here you can buy them frozen by the case, or in smaller amounts in the grocery stores.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

Since the kids were infants, we've always gone to the beach, usually an all day thing. They are 10 and 12 now. We're only about 100 miles from the ocean so it's a frequent day trip in the summer and we just do a lot of beach vacations too - OBX, OC MD, Virginia Beach, St. Pete Beach FL, even the Oregon Coast.

Anyway, to make the day really work you need a large sun shade, beach blanket and beach chairs for everyone, towels to nap under, so they can rest and get out of the sun. Bring a cooler with a picnic lunch, water, tons of drinks and snacks. If you don't have a beach wagon, you want one to drag all the stuff out with minimal whining.

As far as activities:
boogie boards
football
frisbees
boomerangs
big buckets, large wooden handle shovels and sand castle molds
paddle rackets and balls
kites
books
cornhole
bluetooth speakers for playing Siriusxm

A lot of times the kids will just grab a shovel and a bucket and go searching for creatures in the surf.

But as far as organized activities, you can play just about any lawn game at the beach with some modifications.

EDIT: Almost forgot, a lot of the state park/national park type beaches we visit have paved trails. So we bring bicycles for the whole family and will tend to go for an hour or two bike ride at the beach before dragging our stuff out to the sand and water.

 

[mjkacmom]

My kids are not fans of beaches like the gulf coast, they love the Atlantic Ocean and spend hours in the water jumping waves, boogie boarding and body surfing. I remember a cruise stop and going to cable beach in the Bahamas, beautiful crystal clear calm water, they were very bored and asked where the waves were.

 

[pookybean]

We spend hours at the beach... laying around, walking, reading. My kids bring the adult coloring books and my son would bring his guitar occasionally and play off and on. My youngest always seems to find a friend or two to play with, which was always nice because Im the sit under the umbrella and read type. Bring a football and encourage your son to find some other kids who want to play or join a group already playing.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Not sure where on the gulf you are going but my experience is that that aren't enough waves for boogie boards.