Beach holiday with 11 month old

[MyPanda]

Planning on taking DD away for the first time in July and wondering if people have any top tips?(just stay at home maybe 😬)

It'll be at my parents' holiday home rather than a hotel which I guess makes it a bit easier, but the nearest town is about 40 mins away so need to make sure we don't forget anything! DD is cruising already and very active. It's going to be a nightmare isn't it?

You won't be able to relax on the beach!

I did this with a 14 month old. She tried to eat the sand every 2 secs.

In the end my then H and took turns going to the beach alone whilst baby napped over lunch.

If you have more adults it will be better.

It's going to be a nightmare. Sorry.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer. I'm only saying what I wish someone had told me before we spent a small fortune on a holiday in an upmarket Mallorca resort with 18 month old DD. Between the heat, naps, mealtime schedules and all the other issues toddlers bring, you will spend a lot of time feeling fraught.

It may be easier for you as you are in a family holiday home but those charming pictures you see of a smiling couple and an adorable toddler having fun on the beach? It's the stuff of fantasies

I took my 11 month old to Tunisia and he loved it. We played sandcastles, paddled, played with some toys and napped on the beach under an umbrella. It was ace.

I was also pregnant so we were just happy to chill and take things as they came.

So I'd suggest a big umbrella, one of those netted bags dedicated to the toys and talcum powder!

Get some wind breakers and make a kind of fortress with them 😂

When ours were that age we went to a small town near Brid and the beach there was lovely and quiet. We just went on lots of little walks to & from the sea with a bucket and spade and ate lots of sand and jam sandwiches.

The caravan had an enclosed veranda all the way around which was good as it meant they could play out without wandering off. It also had internal doors that separated the living area from the kitchen and then the bedrooms and this was a godsend as we could still put them down for naps and for bedtime without having to be in the same room but also knowing they couldn't get up & mess with things they shouldn't.

Don't expect a lot and just make the best of it!

I think it’s fine. 12 month old here tried to eat sand once a month ago, realised it’s horrid and hasn’t eaten it since

I always feel so jealous of people who report a good time on holiday with wee children! Took our first to Malta at 9mo when she’d just started crawling. Fecking hard work man. Less restful than home where we had the environment set up for her. But just the two of us, agree with PP that with more adults it might be better.