It seems that little bit about kids eating better around other kids because they like to mimic extends to playing at the beach as well.
On Father's Day weekend when we took Autumn to the beach, she sat in her chair the entire time. She screamed when we took her into the water and only liked the water we brought to her in a bucket. Of course, she also apparently wasn't feeling well because that was the night she got sick in our car.
This weekend, our friends C and G and their two boys, A and G, joined us in Marblehead, Ohio. While the men went to act like Men and go fishing on Saturday morning, C and I took the boys and Autumn to the beach. As she watched A and G run around (especially G, who is 3), Autumn decided the beach was fun, too. She still wasn't 100 percent positive that the water was fun, but she liked it when I dipped her bottom in after I counted to three. Of course, I was dipped as well.
The three kids (A is a few months younger than Autumn) all played very well together. And none of them had any crying fits, so that was a bonus. Sometimes they even shared with one another, which was a pleasant surprise. Maybe that mimic thing leads to mimicing good behavior.
All I know is that when I took Autumn to Presque Isle briefly this morning, she couldn't wait to run down to the water's edge. The only bad thing as that we went to the beach in front of Presque Isle lighthouse (because it's never crowded). I didn't even want to dip her knees in the water because there was a ton of algae there. Maybe the guarded beaches where swimming is allowed have less algae. Perhaps we'll see tomorrow.