How Do You Take 2 Kids to the Pool or Beach?

When my youngest was born, I had a 4 year old, 2 year old, and a newborn. The 4 year old was good to go in an inflatable suit, life jacket, or floaties. The 2 year old mostly sat on the steps of the pool (in the same type of gear) but I took a small inflatable pool to sit next to the pool so she could get in it. The baby was so small that he slept a lot; I drug out Ol' Faithful (the pack 'n play) and he slept in that under an umbrella. He was cool, and I could focus on the girls. It may mean taking extra gear, but I kept everything in the car so I didn't have to pack and re-pack every time. I also kept a beach bag stocked with floaties, towels, sunscreen, toys, and anything else we might need so that it was always ready to go. I never walked away for even a second; if the baby woke up, he was close enough for me to get to without having to take my eyes off the other two. The pack 'n play was the back up plan; if anything ever went wrong with them (and it never did) then I had a quick, safe spot to put him so that I would be free to tend to the girls. As he got a little older (a few months) we got a float with a shade and he floated around with us in that.

Put a hat on the baby and put in carrier (at beach) or hold (at pool) while staying close to 3 year old. Give 3 yr old instructions to stay in shallow end of pool or close to shore.

Like Jennifer by 18 months/2 yes old my kids were ok in the pool with life jackets. I was in the pool with them but I didn't have to hold onto them. My kids both started swimming lessons the summers they were 3. If you want to have both your hands free they do make a baby carrier for the pool.

I would stick to smaller pools and kiddie parts of waterparks where there is only a few inches of water. Not that a kid can't drown in a few inches, but if my DD slips in the the baby pool she can pick herself up vs being in water over her head if she slips. A baby pool would also allow you to keep your infant in the carrier nearby if necessary while you fish out the 3 yr old. Much smaller area. Much more confined. If you go to a bigger pool never let the 3 yr old out of your reach. Our pool will make you get out if your non-swimmer, even in a flotation device, is too far from the person supervising him/her. I have never tried it, but I've seen moms put their infants in cloth carriers and just go in the very shallow part with the baby.

For the pool, put your 3 y/o in some type of floaties or life vest that will keep her above water with or without you... and get your 4 m/o one of those sit in floats with a little shade (assuming he or she can sit in it). My 2 year old does really well just with arm floats, I stay near by her but she just swims around by herself. As long as you have her in some type of flotation device you could even just carry your baby in. I had a newborn, a 3 y/o and a 4 y/o when my youngest was born and I braved the beach and pool several times... once you do it it just gets easier :)

I did this all the time. They make wetsuits for tiny babies. Get one if you want to spend more than 10 minutes in the water. Little ones go hypothermic fast.

Have both kids in lifejackets. You need to be able to leave one of them to help the other, if necessary. Swim at pools during quiet times, since the water is more controlled, and there are life guards to help back you up if you need help. I would avoid ocean beaches, since erratic waves bring in an entirely different risk factor. Also avoid the crazy "open swim" times when erratic teenagers bring in a lot of waves. :)

Do not have them in floaties, noodles, etc. You need real lifejackets that will flip them around to face-up if they end up in the water beyond your arm's reach.

I've been there with a newborn and a 21 month old. If I can do it, so can you :)

Pack everything the day before. Make lists beforehand if you have to. Stressing about forgetting something was the worst for me!

Put sunscreen on before you even get in the car.

Get a plastic sled to load everything in (easy to pull with all your stuff). Bring the babies bouncy seat and an umbrella; maybe even a very small inflatable pool (like from the dollar store).

Once you get there, set up before your 3 year old gets over behaving ;) Then put him to work fetching water in a bucket for the pool. There's some unspoken cardinal rule at the beach that no one touches anyone elses stuff. I'm 27 and have never had anything stolen.

There's no reason you can't play in the super shallow part of the water with your 3 year old while holding the baby. OOOR, I did this in the river last summer, get a crappy used umbrella stroller and sit it in the water so baby can sit there, strapped in, feet splashing, while you play in the shallow water with the 3 year old.

It's trial and error, but you can't stay homebound all summer ;)

Good luck!

I've got 4 kids 5 and under (my youngest is 5 months). First, make sure your 3 year old knows that she has to have her best listening ears on at the pool and that if she can't listen there will be no more pool time. If she doesn't listen, leave. It's awful the first couple of times getting everything down to the pool and then leaving 10 minutes later, but it helps out so much in the long run. One or Two times of that and pool side behavior will be excellent.

I use a carrier for the baby - either a cotton sling or my new H2Duo carrier. So then I have baby with me in the pool, hands free and I can watch the other ones. Most of the time the young ones are happy to have toys and play on the stairs.

When we went to the beach last summer, my daughter was 2 1/2 but my son was around 8 months. We bought a very small blow up baby pool that we kept at our towels and filled up with ocean water. It was great because my son could sit in it and my daughter could take a break from digging in the sand to play in the water. We would also hang out just at the waters edge and my son and daughter would both play in the sand right where the water would come in. My husband was with me however, I don't think I would brave the beach by myself. We have an inground pool in our backyard (fenced in, thank God) and I won't even go near it without my husband. My daughter is comfortable, but cautious, but my son (who is now 19 months) is fearless and will just jump in. On really hot days, I set up that same baby pool in the grass and/or set up a sprinkler and let them play that way.

Sit in the baby pool with the 4 month old and bring pool toys for the 3 year old to play with. I have a 3 year old and an almost 1 year old - we did not get to the pool at all last summer due to dealing with a newborn. This summer I am looking forward to spending lots of time there with both of them - sitting in the baby pool. When my husband comes along I will take turns with each of them in the deeper water, working on swimming skills with the older one and just letting the younger one splash around. Our neighborhood pool does not have a separate baby pool - the shallow water area feeds into the deeper pool. So I hunted around and learned that our town pool has a really nice baby pool area with lots to do. It will cost us money to go, but I think it will be worth it to have a safe place for them both to play in the water.
Have fun!

by 18 months, mine were able to get around our pool on their own in a swimsuit with inflatable chambers around the abdomen/back. the beach is a little more tricky, but you hold the baby in your arms and only wade in ankle/mid calf deep on you, and hold your 3yo's hand. there is NO reason that you should have to actually hold a 3yo in the water. at a pool, if the baby is getting too cool, sit on the edge near 3yo while she scoots around. good luck! it's tricky til you figure out what works best for you, but you'll get it down :)

You should be able to hold the baby in waist high or so water and have your 3 year old in a life jacket or some kind of swim thing so he can swim around but you can grab him if needed.

i don't know about taking two kids of different ages but with my twins, i bring a beach cart that i load up with our stuff. i find a spot close to the ocean and unload. i play with my kids around the wet sand area so we build castles and such, chase waves etc. i find it easy. i did the same thing with going to the pool, minus the beach cart. i would pack a backpack with towels, kids would be wearing their floaties around their waists, my cooler in one arm and kids holding my arms on both sides. yes, that part was not most easy but doable.

Does your public pool have a shallow end where the 3 year old's can tough and you can put the baby in a floaty? If so I would recommend that. Do you have a friend or an older neighbor that could go with you?

When I went with my 2 yo and 6 mo last summer, I had the baby in a baby float that I could pull around with me, and the older one in a Stearns Puddle Jumper so I didn't have to worry about him falling face-down in the water. I followed him around with the baby in tow, but he could be in the water without my hands directly on him the entire time. This summer, I've gotten the younger one the same float because it's been so great. Watchful I am, certainly, but with two in opposite directions, it's nice not to have heart failure every time I turn to watch the other one! My older is taking swimming lessons but thankfully still loves the floatie (a few months of lessons doesn't make either of us too confident about his swimming ability!).

I have two girls 1 1/2 years apart and we have been going to the beach since my youngest has been able to crawl! We find a beach that has no driving and we have stern rules about walking and I'm always watching them, I do play with them I don't sit and sun because they are only 3 and 4.5 years old right now, but I hope some day soon I can!

Well it's not easy, that's for sure, but you can do it! One summer I had an almost 3 year old and an 8 month old. The best purchase I ever made was thing that looked like a girls bathing suit with a built in inner tube around the middle. I put my 3 year old in that the minute we stepped foot on the pool deck and then didn't have to watch her like a hawk. I just held the baby that summer (which is sort of a pain) Get through this summer and then buy another tube thing for the baby next summer. When mine were 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 they looked so cute at the pool, like little ducks or something. And they were safe and I was relaxed. Have fun!

Does your town have any spray parks? These places have various toys that spray water out and kids love it. The 3 year old can play and get cooled off while you sit on the edge (or stand in the spray park too) with the baby.
Also, going to the beach can be easy. Just stay along the edge of the water with the kids and don't let the 3 year old go out too far.

you really need help-it is just so difficult-and then there is the heat to consider