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We love spending time at our neighborhood pool during the summer. There’s nothing like sunshine and water to wear your kiddos out! (And to be totally honest, sometimes I even need a nap after spending some time at the pool!)
We’ve been members of our neighborhood pool for 3 years now and I’ve finally got a good system down for getting out the door and to the pool quickly and efficiently. The first summer, my kids were still little, and getting ready for the pool seemed like more work than it was worth! But now that they’re 3 and 5, we’re finally at a point where we can grab our bag, towels, a few snacks, and head to the pool for some fun in the sun!
Here’s a list of the things that I always keep on hand during the summer to make getting ready to go to the pool easy-breezy.
Pool Essentials for Preschoolers
1. A Big-A** Bag
I hate having multiple bags to bring to the pool. It ends up being way too much to carry. I have one huge bag that I throw everything in when we’re headed to the pool. My bag is a Lands’ End extra large canvas tote bag, but there are some great options on Amazon!
2. A LOT of Towels
There’s nothing more annoying than getting ready to go to the pool and realizing all the pool towels are dirty. Now if you’re a mom that does laundry every day (spoiler alert – I’m not that kind of mom) this won’t be a problem for you. But I like to have at least 2 towels per person in our home (or more) so I don’t have to do laundry as often. During the summer, I keep our clean pool towels rolled up and in the laundry room, right next to the garage door. That way, I can grab a few on our way to the pool.
3. Puddle Jumpers
My kids haven’t mastered swimming, so they wear puddle jumpers. I still keep my eyes on my kids 100% of the time at the pool, but these give me a little more peace of mind. Especially since I have more than one kiddo to look after.
4. Sunscreen
When Graham was little, I would only purchase the organic sunscreen. But these days, we spend too much time outside to buy expensive organic sunscreen anymore. Between myself and my two kids for three months of summer, we go through a TON of sunscreen. I like to keep a bottle of spray sunscreen and a bottle of cream or stick sunscreen in my pool bag, ready to go.
5. Hat
Speaking of sunscreen, I hate wearing a ton of it on my face. My daily face moisturizer has sunscreen in it, but I’d rather wear a hat at the pool than rub more sunscreen all over my face.
6. Snacks and Juice Boxes
Trying to get out the door to the pool isn’t the time to be cutting fresh fruit or assembling homemade trail mix. Just grab a few apples, a bag of goldfish, and a couple of juice boxes and go. I try to keep the pantry stocked with easy to grab snacks and drinks during the summer for the kids. It makes my life easier!
7. Simple toys
Our first summer at the pool I bought this super cute tea set from Target to take to the pool. I knew my kids would love it, and I was right! However, I didn’t think about how annoying all the pieces would be to clean up each time we were ready to leave. Then I got smarter. Now I only bring 1-2 cheap toys (if any) to the pool for each kid. Things like a toy watering can, an old Barbie, a water gun, or a diving ring. It’s better to keep it simple.
8. Towel Hooks
Again, if you love to do laundry, you may not need these. But I like to use pool towels a couple of times before throwing them in the wash. A couple of towel hooks in the garage or in the laundry room make it easy to hang and dry the towels after a long afternoon of swimming!
9. Canned Alcoholic Beverages
I’m all about pool safety and keeping a clear head and open eyes while you’re at the pool with your children. But I do like to have one drink every now and then. My drink of choice right now is the White Claw Hard Seltzers. Yummy and only 100 calories!
10. Bribe Candy
The only way I can get my kids to leave the pool is by making sure I have some sort of “bribe candy” in the car. Something small that won’t melt is perfect. They’re pretty responsible with gum, so that’s what I’ve been using recently. But Smarties, Gummy Bears, and Dum Dums work well too.
Do you have any great tips for summer pool days? Share them with me below!
