I'd really love to take my one year old to the beach and be able to play there for a while. He loves the sand but when it's a hot sunny day the sand is so hot and I really don't like him in that much sun. So I'm wondering if any of you have an umbrella or tent or anything else that you bring to the beach or to the park etc that you really like and that allows you to stay longer because you're keeping your little one occupied and out of the sun. Thanks!
We just use a regular beach umbrella from Target. You can adjust it as the sun moves and just get a really big blanket to keep underneath.
Those 'EZ up' things are great. They are square and easy to put up and big enough for a few people.
We love our EZ up. Eays to tote around and big enough for you plus baby.
I just bought an umbrella with sun protection from Costco. My kids also wear the long sleeve shirts and hat that covers their neck that has sun guard in it. It works great for those days when they are busy playing and it is hard to remember if you put enough sunscreen on them or often enough. All at Costco right now in California. I like to buy my kids shirts in bright colors so that I can find them quickly.
I bought a BAMBINO CABANA and it's great. It's like a tent but with an SPF factor of 50 (so it says). It has pockets to fill with sand so it doesnt fly away and my husband says it's very easy to open at the beach.
Maybe google it and see what comes up. I bought mine at Tuesday mornings for 1/3 of the retail price.
My sister-in-law brought an inflatable baby pool with a shade (similar to this one: http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Smart-Baby-Hideaway-Pool/dp/B00... ) when we went to the beach. Her 1 year old & my 2 year old fit in it together & played half the day in it. We filled it with lake water (we were in Lake Tahoe), when they got too much sand in it, we dumped it & re-filled it. It worked out perfectly!!!
these are a couple of options... worked well for us... make sure you do a low profile tent that will help on windy days... we actually had one that was just a cabana type... looks like they have a full tent now, and that may be easier with a one year old anyways?? good luck!
http://www.amazon.com/Kids-Beach-Tent-Shade-UPF50/dp/B002...
Target sells a half dome sun tent that runs about $25. It's been great for parks that have very little shade. There is a tarp on the bottom too, so you can have an area for naps as well.
It's pretty good size.
We just picked up the Sports Brella from Costco in CA...
We have a product by One Step Ahead that is called a "pool cabana" or "Beach Cabana" or something like that. It is one of those things that springs open and then collapses into a circle and fits into a carrying case. It is pretty good and provides shade and still lets the breeze go through. As for keeping a one year old under it, that may be tough, but I guess if the sand is really hot, maybe he won't venture far from the shady part!
Does you family ever go camping? We use our screened in room tent (the kind you see usually placed over a picnic table, w/4 walls of screen) at the beach and just secure the front flaps open. It gives a great big room of shade...perfect for the lil' ones to play under, it gives them lots of space!
I love it because it works great and is something we already have, so we don't need to buy anything new!
We got a sun tent from BRU when our little one was 9 months. It's really simple to use, just pull the cord in the middle and up pops the tent. You put sand in the side pockets to keep it from flying away and it has a little "Porch" awning in front of the entrance. The sides have dark mesh so that you can catch a breeze without the bugs or sun. When we go to the beach we set this up for our daughter to stay out of the sun and to nap. It's big enough that she and I can both be in there comfortably. When you are done for the day you just shake out the sand from the pockets and fold the tent up and put it in a storage bag. We've used it at parks too.
