Musts Have for Summer Dads
Summer is just around the corner and here are a few of my must-have essentials for Summer fun. When I became a single dad I was pretty much on my own to make sure I had everything needed to the kiddo when we went out of town and the pool. Hope this helps guys.
1. Quality Beach Towel
Beach towels are essential for summer fun at splash pads, spray, and water parks and at local outdoor spaces. Make sure it is sand resistant even when wet, dries rapidly, super absorbent, and is compact.
Make sure you get a beach towel to cover the kiddos when the breeze kicks up so they don't freeze to death lol.
2. Sunscreen
Sunscreen is a summer essential for outdoor time. Here are some important tips, make sure you get the right SPF for the right skin, waterproof and look at either spray or lotions. Environmental Working Agency is always a good place to start before purchasing sunscreen. Make sure it will not burn the eyes here is a link to check out the best sunscreens for kids
3. Beach Hat
You can never go wrong with a hat in the summer. It protects eyes from squinting and skin from it’s harmful rays. When our son was a toddler he loved this SPF hat and now this will be our go-to sun hat. Our nearly 4-year-old daughter loves this SPF hat. She also wore it as a baby/toddler in a different size.
My husband and two older children wear baseball hats. I need to get a hat!
4. Snack Containers
SNACKS! Snack containers and love them for snacks and lunches on the go. Make sure these things are water tight when I first did this it was, well ... messy lesson learned.
5. Water Bottles
Water bottles are essential for time away from home exploring nature or parks. We have several kinds, but our main goal is that they are easy to use for children and that they don’t spill. Here are the ones we have for our four children that we love. Share your favorites in the comments!
-
11+: ThermoFlask is great, and holds a lot of water!
-
6-10-year-olds: CamelBak BPA-free and Contigo stainless steel have been go-to water bottles for years.
-
3-5-year-olds: As mentioned, CamelBak is easy to use for little hands.
-
Toddler water bottles
6. Beach Bag
If you have gobs of items, you may need to invest in a collapsable wagon cart that can hold everything including some children! An IKEA bag is huge and works well for all..things too.
7. Travel Games
Kids in the car without something fun for them to do could make an hour trip feel like three hours. Here are a few of our favorite toys to keep kids engaged and happy on car trips.
Also, if we plan to go on a longer flight, I love to pop by the Dollar Tree to get stickers, books, small crafts, coloring pages, etc. so we all stay sane and have fun. To make things even more fun, you can wrap each item in gift wrap. If and when things start to get a little cranky, you can pull out a “gift” for them to open. This really helps tremendously and keeps things exciting and fun for everyone!
Here’s our list of travel games:
-
Magna doodle
-
art supplies like stickers, colors, markers, stencils, and paper
-
1 container of play dough (keep it neat though!)
-
small activity books
-
$1 play packs from Target or Walmart
-
small games and mazes
-
a baggie of magnates (the best because it is always played with!)
Of course, there is nothing wrong with an iPad, but I do love to let me kids get bored so they are forced to use their imagination.
8. First Aid Kit and aware of any medical facility in case
Hey guys it all fun until someone gets hurt, now most of the bumps and bruises can be taken care of with a simple first aid kit but also make sure you know the nearest medical facility around in the event of a major emergency.
9. Sunglasses
Sunglasses are a must for outdoor time in the summer. Make sure you look and get the right sunglasses for the kiddos.
10. Fun Water Toys & Gear
Some summer essentials we can’t forget are water toys for children! Here are a few of the ones I have heard from other guys that are fun.
-
Squirt bottles (we have one per child and use these to spray plants, one another, and more!)
-
Puddle jumper (not a toy and children always need to be supervised, but we love it!)
-
Water Squirter (these are great to give to friends as a little summer gift too!)
-
Water Table or large Tupperware with measuring spoons and smaller Tupperware
-
Goggles for younger kids and bigger kids (we love these and even have backup pairs in case we forget them at home or someone needs to borrow a pair!)
11. Back up Phone Charger
Anyone else have a phone that seems like it is about to die?! My backup charger has saved the day several times when we are on adventures. Right when I am ready to capture a memory my phone always seems to be running low, so a back-up phone charger is a must!