Your child’s suitcase is filled to the brim. Inside are her sandals, sundress, hat and this season’s trendy sunglasses. But as you close the lid, you have a nagging feeling that something is missing.

What is the most important thing that parents forget to take on a family beach vacation?

"Common sense," says Butch Arbin, captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol (OCBP). Parents do things at the beach that they would never try at home, he says. A 35-year veteran, Arbin offers these suggestions to make your next trip to the beach a safe and happy one.

Don’t be afraid to talk to the lifeguard on duty, Arbin says. Not only will he know about current conditions on the beach, but the talk also may save your child’s life.

In Ocean City alone, 2,000 people are lost and found every year, says Arbin. Most lost children are between the ages of 4 and 9. He adds that children often go missing "when their fathers are watching them."

Arbin stresses that if you become separated, both parent and child should immediately go to the nearest lifeguard tower. "We don’t want the parent walking up and down the beach looking, because then we’ve found the child and we can’t find the parent."

Eight-foot high lifeguard towers can be intimidating to a young child, says Arbin. Lost children sometimes run away from the lifeguards. Introducing your child when you first arrive can make the lifeguards seem less scary.

In Ocean City (and nearby Bethany Beach), lifeguards communicate with one another via semaphore (see sidebar). Every fifth tower has radio back-up. If your child is lost longer than 30 minutes, the police are notified. However, Arbin says, "Most lost kids are found within 10 minutes."

The number-one risk of beach-related injury is surf hazard. "Rip currents are the third leading cause of weather-related death in the United States," says Arbin, an impressive statistic when you consider how few states border the ocean. "Eighty-five to 90 percent of all beach rescues" and "almost 100 percent of all [beach] deaths are a result of rip current," he says.

A rip current is a body of water that is rapidly moving away from shore. "A rip current can flow faster than an Olympic swimmer can swim," says Arbin. If you are caught up in a rip current, the OCBP advises, "Do not panic! Go with the current, and then start to swim parallel out of the rip.  If you are too tired to escape, remember that you can float until help arrives."

Only swim in the ocean when there is a lifeguard in the stand. Rip currents can be difficult for an untrained eye to detect. Arbin recounts a harrowing tale of two boys caught up in a rip current after the lifeguards were off-duty. Their mother tried to rescue them, but ultimately she drowned.

Head, neck and back injuries are the next greatest threat after rip current, says Arbin. "People run out and dive in three inches of water. They just don’t think," he says. "Wet sand is just as hard as hitting concrete."

Don’t rent a boogie board for your daughter and push her out into the ocean, says Arbin. Parents think their child will be safe on a flotation device, but "the beach environment is different than being at home [in the pool]."

Be careful when carrying your young child out into the surf, says Arbin. Little kids can become slippery when they are coated in sunscreen. Parents may lose their footing – and their grip on the child – when a wave crashes into them.

"We have had kids die on the beach … from sand cave-ins," says Arbin. "Digging holes on the beach is not a good idea. Our rule is this: knee-deep to the smallest person in the hole." That means if you are digging a hole with your 2-year-old son, the hole should be no deeper than his knees, not yours. Cave-ins can happen so quickly, Arbin says, that minutes later, the hole can’t be found.

"The sand can get hot enough to burn your feet," says Arbin. This is especially important for parents wearing sandals to remember when dragging a reluctant, barefooted child away from the water. Arbin has seen people suffer third-degree burns from hot sand.

Continually reapply sunscreen to the kids throughout the day. "Some of the worst sunburns occur on cloudy days," says Arbin. "If you’re outdoors, you definitely should have sunscreen on." For the littlest ones, "the best prevention is some type of clothing."

"Thirst is not a good indicator for your need of water." Arbin reminds us that by the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. "Plain cold water is the best for

rehydration." In addition, water is good to have on hand in case your child needs to have sand or suntan lotion flushed out of her eyes.

During the summer in Ocean City, one or two people step on fish hooks daily. Don’t try to pull the hook out yourself, Arbin advises. Go to the nearest emergency room to have the barb removed and to get your tetanus shot.

Four kinds of jellyfish live along the mid-Atlantic seaboard, says Arbin, but only two sting. Avoid all of them just to be safe.

As for sharks … according to the United States Lifesaving Association, "the danger of injury or death from a shark bite is far less than from drowning, near-drowning or other beach-related injuries." Arbin points out that Maryland has never had a recorded shark incident.

Thinking ahead helps ensure that your family will avoid these common pitfalls at the beach. Take Captain Arbin’s advice: Don’t leave home without your common sense!

Let’s say that a parent has notified the lifeguard of a lost child. The following message would be passed quickly from lifeguard to lifeguard using the semaphore system.

First, the lifeguard would wave the flags to create the letter "L" for lost. Next, he would convey either the letter "B" for boy or "G" for girl. Third, the lifeguard would signal "N" for name (with the letters of the name following) and follow with an "A" for age (with the age of the lost child spelled out). Finally, the lifeguard would hold the flags out from his hips to convey the word "bathing suit" (followed by spelling out the color of the bathing suit).

You can view the entire semaphore alphabet used by the OCBP lifeguards at www.town.ocean-city.md.us/ocbp/information/semaphore.htm