Making Waves: OT Tips and Tools for a Sensational Beach Trip ☀️
Going to the beach can be a fun and memorable activity for the whole family, but can also be a highly sensory experience. There are so many kiddos who WANT to enjoy time at the beach, but are hesitant because of all the sensory components involved. While the sun, sand, water, and crashing waves can seem like a great day out, if your child has auditory, visual, or tactile sensitivities, these sensations can be uncomfortable, aversive, and even downright scary.
It is important to acknowledge the challenges that neurodivergent children may face when going to the beach and to normalize the use of strategies to help them navigate this new environment. Tools such as sunglasses, water shoes, spray sunscreen (“rubbed on” vs sprayed on), rash guards, swim caps, and ear plugs can help. Preparatory heavy work activities, including deep pressure massage, digging in the sand, towel tug-of-war, and carrying heavy buckets can help your child’s nervous system receive sensory information without the overload.
Here are a few tips and tools you can use to help mitigate sensory challenges:
PREVIEW, PRACTICE, AND INVESTIGATE
Kids may have a more positive experience if they know what’s going to happen, so previewing the environment can help support success. Try taking a few short trips to explore the environment from the periphery. Point out the noises, sights, smells, and tactile experiences. Talk about them with your child so they know what to expect. Ask them to tell you what feels ok and what may feel overwhelming.
PRACTICE IN A SAFE PLACE
Practice at home using a sandbox or even a sensory sand tray, a small kiddie pool, and white noise recording of birds and waves crashing to simulate the environment. This will help increase your child’s comfort level over time. Be sure your child feels in control with this practice environment – allow them to choose the parts to explore and give them the opportunity to articulate what they can handle and what is too much for them.
RASH GUARDS AND SWIM CAPS
Choose one size smaller to achieve the compression feel.
Deep touch pressure can be very calming for kiddos who have challenges processing sensory information. Occupational therapists will often recommend wearing compression clothing (socks, shirts, etc) under clothing to provide deep touch pressure, but this can be hard to accomplish at the beach with swimsuits! Rash guards, sized down one smaller than your child would typically wear, can be a good alternative to compression shirts, and they can double as swim wear, so your child can get the input they need with the added protection from the sun’s harmful rays. In addition, a swim cap can provide deep pressure to the head, which can be a powerful way to get proprioceptive input (proprioception is the sense that lets us perceive the location, movement, and action of parts of the body).
SUNGLASSES, EAR PLUGS, AND WATER SHOES
For kiddos who are extra sensitive to visuals, auditory, and tactile information, there are many common “beach accessories” that can provide sensory support.
Visual Sensitivities: A bright sunny day can be very overstimulating for a sensory sensitive kiddo. Sunglasses can help with light sensitivity, diffusing light from the sun and from the reflections of the sun on the light sand and water. Tinted goggles are another water-friendly option.
Auditory Sensitivities: The crashing waves, screeching seagulls, and “beach chatter” can be a lot for a kiddo who has challenges processing auditory information. Swimming ear plugs can help filter these extraneous sounds. You can also use noise canceling headphones, like Ben does in The Car Wash.
Tactile Sensitivities: For a child who has tactile sensitivity, sand (and the bottom of the water) can feel very aversive. Water shoes will help shield sensitive toes from this input.
SUNSCREEN: SPRAY VS LOTION
Every parent who has ever taken their little ones to the beach has had the sunscreen battle. Kids don’t want lotion put on and definitely don’t want to wait for it to soak in. For a child with sensory challenges, this battle can become more intense, as the heavy, greasy lotion can feel aversive on sensitive skin. The spray form of sunscreen is a less heavy option, but may also feel uncomfortable when the spray comes out in a stream.
The solution? Try spraying the sunscreen on your own hands (or your child’s hands) and then rub into their skin. This lighter, less greasy version is often easier to tolerate, and by rubbing it in instead of spraying, you are avoiding the aversive light touch from the spray, and using deep touch pressure to rub it in.
HEAVY WORK
The beach is a GREAT place to give your kiddos loads of heavy work! If your child can tolerate the tactile input of sand, there is so much you can do. Try these fun games:
Dig a sand hole to the “bottom of the ocean”
Create a trench to fill with water. Have the child carry buckets of water up from the shoreline (Water can be HEAVY!).
Turn your kiddo into a sand mermaid by burying their legs in the sand.
If water play is your jam, crashing and jumping in the water and waves is a great way to get heavy work.
If you are in a place that has less waves, paddling a rowboat, kayak, or canoe will also work muscles and provide deep pressure.
Have your child be the helper! Carrying toys, blankets, towels, and beach chairs to and from the car or house.
Most importantly, listen to your child, take it slow, and set your expectations accordingly. Your child will be able to tell you what works and what doesn’t work. By acknowledging the potential environmental barriers, using the right tools, and including your child in possible solutions, you will be able to support your child’s success at the beach!
Stay Strong & SHINE on!
Dr. Amy