Beach day checklist

What It Means

A beach day checklist is a short list of what to pack and what to do so a day by the ocean with kids stays safe. The safety parts come from the American Red Cross, NOAA and FDA: swim at a lifeguarded beach, watch children constantly, know how to get out of a rip current, and protect skin from the sun. Food, water and comfort for the day make up the rest.

How People Say It

• "Stay where the lifeguard can see you."
• "Who's on water watch for the first hour?"
• "Sunscreen again, it's been two hours."

The Breakdown

Pack

• Broad spectrum sunscreen, SPF 15 or higher, for everyone over 6 months
• Hats, sunglasses and lightweight clothes that cover skin
• Shade: an umbrella or a small tent, especially for a baby under 6 months
• U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets for children and new swimmers
• Drinking water, snacks and a cooler
• Towels, a change of clothes and a bag for wet things
• Phone, charged, for emergencies

At the beach

• Choose a beach with a lifeguard, and swim inside the marked swimming area
• Pick one adult as the water watcher, and hand the job over out loud when they need a break
• Stay within arm's reach of young children and new swimmers
• Reapply sunscreen at least every two hours, and more often after swimming or sweating
• Teach the kids what to do in a rip current, below

If a rip current pulls you out. NOAA's advice is to stay afloat, yell for help, and swim parallel to the shore instead of straight back toward it. A rip current carries you away from the beach rather than under the water, NOAA says, and most are less than 80 feet wide, so swimming sideways gets you out of it. If you can't, keep floating: rip currents usually weaken just past the line of breaking waves.

Good to Know

The Red Cross says to give children close and constant attention whenever they're in or near water, even when a lifeguard is present, whatever their swimming ability and however shallow the water. If someone is in trouble in the water, alert the lifeguard and call 911. For babies under 6 months, FDA and the AAP advise keeping them out of direct sunlight, and HealthyChildren.org advises keeping a baby out of the sun between 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more a.m. and 4 p.m.

Related Terms and Categories

• Sun safety

  The habits that protect skin and eyes from the sun's UV rays: shade, covering clothes, a hat, sunglasses and broad spectrum sunscreen reapplied often.

• Camping with kids

  Planning a family camping trip around kids' safety and comfort: water, fire, food storage, ticks and constant watching near lakes and rivers.

• Packing list

  A written list of everything to bring on a trip, ticked off as each item goes in a bag so nothing important gets left behind.

• Motion sickness

  Feeling sick from the movement of travel by car, boat, plane or train, which CDC says is most common in children from 2 to 12 years old.

• Reef-safe sunscreen

  A marketing label for sunscreen meant to signal it won't harm coral; no regulator defines the term, so the active ingredients list is what to check.

Travel and outings with kids