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

[Katie Dawn]

Thank you everyone for the replies! There are several great ideas and things to think about here. Really helpful.

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.

These are good things to think about, and some I hadn't thought of. I looked up the restrictions for Gulf Shores and looks like there's no fires, no driving on the beach (which I prefer), no drones (which would have been fun but honestly my son wouldn't be able to maintain control and it would hit someone or be lost forever anyway). I'll have to ask DH about fishing. I know DS really wants to, but my daughter is very empathetic to animals and finds it horrifying, so maybe if the boys go fish and the girls go do something else that could work. I didn't know about the red-covered flashlights for ghost crabs! Our last trip was in Florida and we would look for ghost crabs every night on our walk. It would be nice to watch them a little longer before they ran away.

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.

We leave in 2 1/2 weeks! I did see in the rules that holes can't be deeper than 12 inches. We ALWAYS fill holes back in because I would hate for someone to step in it in the dark or one of the beach maintenance vehicles to get stuck in it, but we never tear down our castles. We will be sure to do that now that I know it can have a negative impact on turtles. Do you know if it will be nesting season while we're there?

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!

We decided to give a gulf coast vacation a try because at this point we really don't know how our kids will do. They're so much older now. DH and I love sitting under an umbrella and reading and I think my daughter would be happy doing the same (or coloring her adult coloring books). But my son is go, go, go.... so I've taken some notes on the types of activities people have recommended.

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.

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

Ooooo.... I didn't realize that. Thank you for letting me know so we can all be prepared! It makes sense though why that would be true.

In case anyone is still reading that knows, I have a snorkeling question. We've never been (DS has been wanting to try it for a long time) so don't have any equipment. I asked the guy that owns the boat we've chartered if he had any suggestions for equipment (he doesn't provide it). He suggested going to one of the generic beach shops that are a few blocks away from the shore as they will have cheap fins and snorkels. I really like the idea of getting something inexpensive since we're buying for four people and might never use them again... but buying equipment from those cheap little shops makes me a little nervous. Would I be better off finding some inexpensive options from Amazon? Or any other suggestions? I should maybe see if there's a place around there that would rent us equipment.

 

[mrodgers]

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.

Yup, we put up an above ground pool. The next year took our first vacation, which was Disney, but then at the end of summer with a joke of how my wife had 4 days off for the weekend and we should go to the beach, I booked a weekend trip and took them to the beach.

I told the wife not to expect to see me because I haven't been to the beach since I had just turned 16. She asked where I'll be which was in the water, coming out to walk the boardwalk to get Thrasher's French Fries for lunch, back in the water and out to walk the boardwalk to get Thrasher's French Fries for dinner because along with not being at the beach since I was 16, I also hadn't had Thrasher's Fries since I was 14.

And that's exactly what I did, went out in the water the entire time. I watched them walking up and down the beach looking for shells and swimming up and down along with them. I came in at noon for lunch and she asked where I was. I pointed out to the water, "didn't you hear the lifeguard blowing her whistle constantly? That was her yelling at me for floating too far out while I was floating on my back half asleep lobbing up and down past the breaking waves, LOL.

And that's where we learned our kids hated the beach. Then and the next year at Myrtle, all they wanted to do was swim in the pool. I didn't leave our house with a pool, drive 700 miles and spend $2000 just to swim in a pool, LOL.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Would I be better off finding some inexpensive options from Amazon? Or any other suggestions?

I bought cheap ones at Target. I think Amazon would be fine until you know if you want to spend more. If I ever want to try again (I am in an older age group), I would go with a full face mask.

 

[mmbrad02]

Like others have shared, my small family of 3 are not "week at the beach" people, though we have done it. I personally like 2-3 days of it and am done. But alas we went to Outer Banks last year with my DD, 10 at the time, and extended family. She would be content for a short amount of time and then be bored. She would sit in the beach chair for a bit and read, or sit with her eyes shut. We would often do 9-10ish am at the beach and then by lunch were back at the house to swim, and in the evenings go back for walks on the beach.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

We bring a big umbrella when it's just me and the 2 kids. My daughter with ADHD tends to spend the entire day playing in the surf, searching for shells and rocks in the water, running up and down the beach (within eyesight of us), making new vacation "friends" and just generally being active, while my son and I are perfectly content to sit under the umbrella and enjoy the sounds and sights. They like to fly kites too. Sand castle building kind of ended (for my kids) before they were even school age, they just have no interest in it. Maybe buy them a cheap metal detector to try if they get bored with just sitting and relaxing?

When we used to take big family trips we would bring one of those big folding canopy things to set up to fit more people in the shade, that way no one is fighting for a spot out of the sun. You can bring any activity to do at the beach, whatever your kids like to do to relax. Heck, bring the Nintendo Switch if that's what floats their boat. Just take precautions so it doesn't get sand in it.

 

[Katie Dawn]

We bring a big umbrella when it's just me and the 2 kids. My daughter with ADHD tends to spend the entire day playing in the surf, searching for shells and rocks in the water, running up and down the beach (within eyesight of us), making new vacation "friends" and just generally being active, while my son and I are perfectly content to sit under the umbrella and enjoy the sounds and sights. They like to fly kites too. Sand castle building kind of ended (for my kids) before they were even school age, they just have no interest in it. Maybe buy them a cheap metal detector to try if they get bored with just sitting and relaxing?

When we used to take big family trips we would bring one of those big folding canopy things to set up to fit more people in the shade, that way no one is fighting for a spot out of the sun. You can bring any activity to do at the beach, whatever your kids like to do to relax. Heck, bring the Nintendo Switch if that's what floats their boat. Just take precautions so it doesn't get sand in it.

Thanks for these suggestions! I told DH about the metal detecting idea. He said he's always thought that would be fun hobby so we've ordered a metal detector for the trip!

I found a business called "Sand Castle University" and they are going to meet us at our beach and help us build a sea turtle. I'm hoping we'll get some good general sand building/castle ideas from them while they're with us.

Thanks again everyone for all the suggestions!

 

[cgattis]

Couple of things…you won’t see much snorkeling in the gulf. I wouldn’t waste money on that, unless you’re actually going out to where they’ve put out some fake reefs in recent years (although I think that’s Destin area). Crab nets are also awesome for scooping up shells from the shelf that often forms where the beach erosion is occurring, without getting slammed by a wave LOL. I recommend a small mesh bag to held your shells too, and one of those laminated “shells of the Gulf” cards. You can have fun with boogie boards, it just won’t be the Atlantic. A nerf football or a Waboba ball (google it) is always great , as others have said, and we always liked those Velcro paddle/mitt things with the tennis-like ball for catch. If you like fish, eat amberjack—it’s one of the most popular gulf fish. And it’s not seafood, but try to eat at Lamberts over in Foley. Rolls the size of softballs and they throw them to you across the room—literally!! It’s like a Cracker Barrel on steroids—the food is very good and everyone has a blast.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We live in South Florida about 4 mins to the beach. My 11 and 15 year old love long beach days. I belive it's good for our family because they are unplugged. When we first started going to the beach all the kids could think about was games and videos.
Kids love snorkeling they cant get enough.
But we are South Florida Then we walk up and get lunch nearby.

Where we live they have a lot of rules on the city beach, you will see that in a lot of places now days. So we station at the end of the public beach so we still have lifeguards. Once we cross the sign that says not public beach we can dig holes ( kids love it) deep enough to find good shells. Bring the dog because they are not allowed on a lot of beaches.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I bought cheap ones at Target. I think Amazon would be fine until you know if you want to spend more. If I ever want to try again (I am in an older age group), I would go with a full face mask.

My kids snorkle frequently , the lifeguards told us the full face mask as dangerous and they should not be used due to co2 buildup and you will pass out underwater.
My kids started with a set from walmart that was $25 ( we have since upgraded because we use them frequently)
We snorkle in the Atlantic side of South Florida

 

[Sinder]

I grew up going to the shore every summer and spending pretty much all day on the beach and in the water. My kids however did not inherit my love of the ocean and beach.
We always made sure we brought alot of things for them to do, sand toys, games, boogie boards, skim boards. We did of walks looking for shells and they always loved being on the jettys looking for critters. Once they reached an age where they got bored we started looking for beaches that also were close to other things, mainly places to walk/hike and kayak, or beaches close to boardwalks.

 

[CdnCarrie]

We don’t go to a coast. I’m not an ocean swimmer.

However we do have a waterfront cottage on a lake in our province. On hot days we go boating, tubing, swimming, kayaking or just float on a tube with a cold drink.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

the lifeguards told us the full face mask as dangerous and they should not be used due to co2 buildup and you will pass out underwater.

Interesting. I had not heard that.

 

[NotUrsula]

My kids snorkle frequently , the lifeguards told us the full face mask as dangerous and they should not be used due to co2 buildup and you will pass out underwater.
My kids started with a set from walmart that was $25 ( we have since upgraded because we use them frequently)
We snorkle in the Atlantic side of South Florida

The perceptions about CO2 buildup have been investigated and found to be mostly false. This page summarizes the issue and links the text of research investigations into the phenomenon, and also recommends some quality brands. The upshot is that if the mask is from a reputable brand which follows standards, the full-face models are no riskier to use than the standard type. Please do follow the links and look at the data. https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/full-face-snorkel-mask.html

 

[holden]

In addition to all of the beach games...

Food ( fun snacks they don't get at home, lunch, drinks, etc.)
Remote control beach car
Cleaning/collecting shells
Walk on the beach

I also agree that when the kids are done it's time to go. After a few hours on the beach in the sun a nice shower/bath and a movie will put them right to sleep.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Too many kids nowadays expect to be entertained every waking moment. It’s a good idea to allow them to learn …how to relax and soak in the moment. Also most of the best moments are “happy accidents”. There’s no need to over plan. Also the are old enough to join in vacation planning. Ask them their opinions.