The Ultimate List of Summer Essentials for Toddlers, including the best outdoor toys, beach and water toys, and other essentials that will make your summer months with little ones a lot easier and more fun!
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Summer is all about spending more time outdoors. My toddlers love going to the lake, beach, or public pool. They also love running around the yard, chasing butterflies, or going on neighborhood walks.
The warmer months are our favorite time of the year and I’m sharing our most used summer toys and summer essentials, that help us get through the hot summer days here in New York.
This post is all about the best toddler summer essentials
13 Best Summer Essentials for Toddlers
1. Toddler Bug Spray
I’ve put Tick & Bug Repellent as the #1 essential for a reason. With more time spent outside, getting bid by a mosquito or tick is almost guaranteed. My toddlers will have gotten their whole legs bit up two summers ago until I bought a bug repellent and made sure, everyone was sprayed on before we could even leave the house.
This particular Bug Repellent is safe to use on babies, toddlers, children, and adults. It naturally repels mosquitos, bugs, ticks, flying insects, and green-headed flies so you can have more fun outside with your family. I love that it’s all-natural and organic, and the price is amazing as well. Make sure to pack this when headed to the park, camping, hiking, or the beach.
2. Toddler Sun Hat
To keep your toddlers head and face protected from the sun, it’s important to put a sun hat on them, in addition to applying sunscreen. We love this Summer Bucket Hat from Amazon, because it has a UPF 50+ UV sun protective fabric and blocks up to 98% of all harmful UV rays, and has a tie to easily secure your toddler’s head.
3. Toddler Water Proof Shoes
These Native Shoes are our absolute Must-Have Item for the summer. They come in all different kinds of colors and are perfect for the park, beach, and the water. My toddlers love them all summer long and they are super easy to clean, just rinse them down.
4. Waterproof & Foldable Picnic Blanket
Doing outside picnics during the summer months is one of my kids’ favorite things to do. We pack up some snacks and lunch and head to the park or lake, and they just have the best time. Sometimes we just have a picnic in our own yard. This Picnic Blanket is awesome, as it is waterproof and perfect for the beach. It’s foldable and even fits in a diaper bag. You can throw it in the wash, and use it over and over again.
5. Toddler Water Play Table
One of our most used outdoor toys is by far this Waterpark Play Table.
6. Toddler Popsicle Holder
Ice Cream and Popsicles are
7. Toddler Beach Toy Set
Hands down, the best beach toy set we’ve had so far! We’ve had plastic ones before but they really didn’t hold up well and ended up cracking. This Silicone Beach Toy Set has been through a lot and is still in amazing condition. You can roll it, fold it, and easily put it in your beach bag or diaper bag. It’s not bulky like other beach toys and super lightweight.
8. Toddler Bubble Machine
Toddlers love bubbles but it’s hard for them to hold the bubbles and blow at the same time. This bubble machine makes the fun so much easier for them. No more spills and leaks. All they have to do is press the camera button, super easy to use and not noisy at all. My kids love it!!
9. Toddler Chalk
This Healthy Kids Chalk is non-toxic and perfect for little hands. My toddlers love drawing outside with these and since they are wrapped with paper, it’s a lot less of a mess. They are super vibrant and don’t break as easy as most other chalks we’ve had.
10. Toddler Popsicle Molds
If you enjoy making your own Popsicles in the summer, your kids will love these fun animal shape popsicle molds. The silicone makes it super easy to pop out, clean, and reuse over and over again. A must-have for summer!
11. Organic Toddler Sunscreen
Shop Organic Mineral Sunscreen
An organic and mineral Sunscreen for little ones is a must for hot summer days. I’m rather picky when it comes to what goes onto my kids’ skin. Not all sunscreens are created equal and a lot of the more popular brands actually have hidden ingredients that aren’t good for your kids’ skin. I really like this brand and can highly recommend it.
12. Reusable Snack Bag
If you are traveling this summer or taking your toddler to the lake, beach, or park, bringing snacks on the go is a must! We love bringing fruits, nuts, or crackers and these reusable snack bags are perfect to fit toddlers’ snacks. They are dishwasher and microwave safe and help replace single-use plastic bags that would end up in our landfills.
13. Plastic Water Dispenser
If you ever wanted to set up a mud kitchen for your toddler but don’t want to spend the money (or don’t have the time to build one yourself) this easy hack is for you. Buy a cheap plastic water dispenser and set up a few plastic cups and pans for your kids, and they will have HOURS of fun, just pouring the water, making mud soup, or washing their toys. You are welcome! 🙂
If you are traveling with your toddler this summer, check out these blog posts:
{ 7 helpful tips when flying with toddlers }
{ 11 Best Travel Toys for Toddlers }
{ 7 Must Have Toddler Essentials for a Road Trip }
This post was all about the 13 Best Summer Essentials for Toddlers.
