HELP!! How to have a more relaxing/enjoyable time at the beach with a toddler?

Question

My son will be two in two months and we went to the beach for the first time this year and omg was it ever crazy!!!! 
He didn’t want to eat or drink ANYTHING!!! I was so stressed because he didn’t eat lunch - I kept offering him stuff he kept getting upset. He only had a few sips of water.
At first he loved the water which was great. He was very excited about the other kids and the blow up floaties everyone had (so we’re thinking of purchasing him one) - we have a baby one he sits in but he hated it. But then he just stopped wanting to go in the water and started running around the whole beach, he didn’t seem to want to do anything but run. 
I’m pregnant so it was extra exhausting for me. 
After a while we got him settled down in the sad. He loved playing in the sad (we bought him sand toys), he played there for a while. Until he started getting upset. So we packed up and left early. As soon as we got to the car and started driving he ate his sandwich and passed right out. we were only there for about 3-3.5 hours and drove an hour and a half😒
He is the type of kid that won’t sleep anywhere but his crib. He literally will be exhausted but won’t sleep. So it surprised me when he fell asleep yesterday. 
Now last year he hated the water so we didn’t buy all this extra stuff this year, now that he likes it we’re going to buy a tent or umbrella for shade since we didn’t have any yesterday. 
But any tips on how to make it more enjoyable? I was so stressed the whole time - at this point I don’t even want to go back 😂

Answer

First off YOU need to not stress.  They feed off your stress which makes a horrible snowball of stress with young kids.  (Trust me I'm guilty of it myself) 
Dont stress over him eating and drinking too much he is just excited and he will eat and drink when he wants to.     Try to rotate the activities so as soon as he starts swimming bored switch things up.  Different toy or go back to the water or back to the sand etc.

Answer

Maybe just try not stressing? My 2 1/2 year old sometimes go to bed without eating. We always offer food, it’s just up to him to decide if he wants to eat it or not. So try not to stress about him not wanting to eat. Sometimes kids just aren’t in the mood. They’re all like that at some point. And like you said, he’s about to be 2 so LOTS of energy is going through him. Of course he wants to run. It sounds like you stressed out because you couldn’t control the situation the way you wanted. Try to be gracious, and remember he’s only 2....3 hours of beach time in the sun and heat for the little guy is plenty and enough to make him tired and upset.

Answer

Sounds like a normal beach day with kids to me 🤷🏻‍♀️ it also sounds like you set your expectations way too high. Beach days with kids aren’t going to be the same as beach days without them. We have a 3 year old and a newborn and we go into every outing knowing it could go super well or super horrible. Either way we go into it with a plan, patience and a lot of flexibility.

Answer

I would stop stressing and wanting things go your way toddlers will eat and drink when they want and sleeping for toddler can be hard if it's nap time then tell you something kids grow out of it at a younge age so don't try to control sistuation with toddlers

Answer

We have brought one of his daycare teachers a few times and it’s been amazing! We enjoy her company, but she is basically in charge of him so we can relax. We all play together, but we also can go for a walk, have a few cocktails, and just hang out. It’s seriously the best!

Answer

Shade is a number one thing for babies/kids when u go to the beach. Maybe that’s why he didn’t feel so good. Offer water as much as u can, maybe get a new cup so he is interested. Done worry about food. I am sure he will eat at home later. Beach is very tiring. Get a good rush guard, sunscreen, sunhat and sand toys. Let him go nuts in the sand, build castles, make water systems... he will eventually love it🙂

Answer

You stressing will add to his stress.
And then you might need to accept that your kid has a hard time sleeping and eating and drinking when a lot of stuff happens around him.. If the beach is totally new to him, he might just be all like "I need to do everything at once because it'll be over soon!".
If you're not having fun odds are your kids won't have fun either. Other people's moods are contagious as fuck.
Maybe you can take someone with you next to walk around with him?

HELP!! How to have a more relaxing/enjoyable time at the beach with a toddler?

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