With your child to the beach

Have you and your family booked a holiday on the coast? Then it is of course wonderful to cool off on the beach with your children on a hot summer day. Small children love to enjoy the sand and water with a bucket and a shovel.

Here we give you a number of tips to ensure that you and your child can enjoy a day at the beach without any worries.

Safety first

Lazing on the beach is wonderful, but it is especially important that your child is safe. You should not think about it, but on busy summer days, children lose their parents every day. It is therefore useful to give your child something that has your telephone number on it. If your child is found by another beach visitor, they can call you immediately. There are so-called sos necklaces and sos bracelets that you can personalize. You could also use an ironing label in the clothing. Many parents write a number on the child with pen, but after extensive playing in the sand, applying sunscreen and swimming in the salt water, the numbers can fade. Do not give your child something that clearly states his or her name. Malicious people can then pretend that they already know your child in order to lure them along.

Landmarks

If your child is old enough, you can name landmarks where you can meet with your child if you have lost each other. Think of a beach bar, a beach entrance or a beach pole with a number. Also agree to where the children can play independently. It is also useful to attract your child to something that he or she can be recognized in. If necessary, let your child wear a brightly colored cap or sun hat, so that they are even easier to recognize.This way they are immediately better protected from the sun. Win-win!

Lubricate

We all know that burning is very bad for the skin, so you better prevent this. The wind and water can make you feel the power of the sun less well, but your child can burn ugly if you don't take the right precautions. Therefore, make sure that your children are well lubricated with sunscreen with the maximum protection factor SPF 50+ and certainly take this with you in your bag. Apply the product half an hour before you go out in the sun and repeat the application as often as possible. Also pay attention if your children have been in the water. The sunscreen is often a bit off (sometimes also with waterproof sunscreen!). In any case, it is good to lubricate children every hour.

Food and drink

Food and especially drinks are very important on a hot day at the beach. Make sure you always have a bottle of water with you, as many sweet drinks do not hydrate enough. Regularly get new water in a beach bar if you notice that your water is getting lukewarm. In addition to water, it is nice to take some fruit with you. Children often have no appetite for a sandwich in warm weather and then a juicy apple or pieces of (tropical) fruit is a great solution! You can always give a cracker or cookie for variety.

On a towel

Sand reflects no less than 20% of the UV radiation. Make sure you and your child are sitting on a rug or a large towel.

Wear clothes

It is wise to give your young child a T-shirt. Also, have him or her wear a sun hat and sunglasses.

Sunburn

Are you already too late and your little one has been burned? Then have your child put on a white T-shirt and try to keep him or her out of the sun as much as possible. Lubricate the skin generously in the evening with after sun.

Jellyfish bite

Has your child been bitten by a jellyfish? Then the Health Square advises to rinse the bite with only salt water. At the first aid post on the beach of Julianadorp (next to beach club Paal6) they can check whether there are remnants of tentacles and remove them with tweezers. To deactivate the injected poison, you can rinse vinegar or urine over the bite. In case of itching, you can also use an itch-relieving cream. Multiple jellyfish bites or a lot of pain? Then it is wise to visit the doctor.

We wish you a wonderful long summer by the sea. With these measures you can be sure that you can fully enjoy a day at the Dutch beach!