Spa services for child?

[miranda]

Weird place to ask but I'm running out of options! My 10 yo boy is a sensory-seeker and loves hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, and massages. On our last cruise I had spa privileges and he was so jealous hearing all the cool stuff I got to do like the salt room and the snow room. The spa on the ship was 18+. Have you ever heard of a spa that allows kids under 18? I'm guessing it's a health code thing, but I can't find anything in our state code. I've googled endlessly and can only find "spa" services likes nails and hair for children. We're going to Vegas in the fall and I was hoping to find somewhere he could get a massage (with me present of course) and perhaps use the spa facilities, but I suppose that's far-fetched? Any ideas?

[waverly]

My only idea were hot tubs that are next to pools at hotels. Like you jump in the pool then jump in the hot tub thing. At a hotel they are not usually restricted except for young children or time limit to prevent overheating. I have been in some very fancy maybe country club places where they had a steam room, but most places do not have them anymore.

For message my guess is that they don't really do children for child safety reasons. If he goes to PT a PT may provide a medical message. We didn't have any with DS, but tight muscles were not his issue, and it never came up. But I had message with my PT, so maybe that is something he could do at home.  I suppose you could call one and ask...or maybe one associated with where you are staying and see what their POV is. 

ETA- I see some resorts offer it but they are not widespread.  I didn't see one in Vegas.  Seems like places that cater more to families or kids. And I totally keep spelling massage wrong lol.

[auntie]

I suspect there are a number of reasons why you don't find spa services for your kid.

Firstly, I don't imagine a spa that is inclusive of children is much of a business model. Seriously, I go to the spa to get away from my kid- I sure as hell don't want to see anybody else's kid there while I'm wandering around in a robe and trying to chill.


I am sure there are safety concerns, especially as they relate to sauna, steam rooms and thermal tubs, the temperatures could be too high to be safe for a child. There's also the appropriateness of your 10 year old boy stripped down in a sauna with a bunch of naked men I question. I suppose he could go in with dad. The people who administer these services in spas don't have specific child safety clearances as are required by school districts and medical practices. My idiot BIL is a licensed message therapist, I'm not sure what sort of clearances he has. In PA, I can't volunteer at school or scouts with out a background check.


This is kind of a teaching moment that could be leveraged to help you son understand his role and rights as a 10 year old and those afforded adults. It will help him identify as a child which will go a long way to help him fit in socially. It's OK for him to be jealous and have something to look forward to as an adult.


It's also an opportunity to discuss societal norms for activities and behaviors as they are broken down by gender. A child with ASD may no correctly intuit what the rules are that are held by people as a group. Kids and teens with ASD often struggle with issues related to sex and gender; not understanding the rules puts them at risk for stigma. A well developing kid or teen can flaunt gender norms because the come from a position of strength- our kids do not. And that's a tough conversation to have especially if your own beliefs around this are more evolved.


There are other ways to meet sensory needs. A climbing sport is a good choice as it offers deep joint compression. He might also be a good candidate for Willbarger Protocol- this is typically taught to parents by specially trained OTs. It includes daily brushing/joint compression sessions to help with sensory issues. Normally it's used for sensory defensiveness, but I know a few families who have used it for mixed and seeking behavior.

[origami]

Try looking for Korean spas (or other Asian), also called a jjimjilbang. They usually allow kids under 18 with a parent. Most, if not all, of it will be sex-segregated though and the massages are likely to be deep-tissue (painful) so you’d have to make sure they knew to take it easy. Otherwise I would look at places with all those things that aren’t luxury spas. Maybe a hotel would do an over-the-clothes or chair massage for a child if they won’t do a real one.

[origami]

This isn’t in Vegas but I totally want to go here!
ourfamilyspa.com/our-mission/

[auntie]

Don't love that website.

I prefer person-first language- "Kid with Special Needs" vs "Special Needs Kid"- in most instances.


And this bit- "Does your child suffer from ADHD? We would love to offer the calming and centering benefits of massage." It's not appropriate to use terms like "suffer from" or "afflicted by" when describing disability.

That this is their public face, and they seem unaware that this language is something between merely non-pc and a little bit offensive makes me wonder if this is a population with which they have experience or if it's an attempt to exploit a new market segment.

[origami]

I don’t love that language either but the OP is right that places like this are few and far between. I’ve done marketing and websites for many small business owners and it doesn’t surprise me in the least that a small family owned place like this isn’t on top of the most appropriate language to use. A ton of people are clueless about that.

[miranda]

Jul 7, 2018 8:09:36 GMT -5 origami said:

Try looking for Korean spas (or other Asian), also called a jjimjilbang. They usually allow kids under 18 with a parent. Most, if not all, of it will be sex-segregated though and the massages are likely to be deep-tissue (painful) so you’d have to make sure they knew to take it easy. Otherwise I would look at places with all those things that aren’t luxury spas. Maybe a hotel would do an over-the-clothes or chair massage for a child if they won’t do a real one.

I searched that in Vegas and come up with a spa right away- children age 7 and up are welcome! I wonder how that works- I tend to agree with auntie, that most adults don't want kids running around the spa; maybe they have a "family" area. I could do OT for rigorous sensory treatment; this I'd like to do just for fun. 

[origami]

Jul 9, 2018 14:50:31 GMT -5 miranda said:

Jul 7, 2018 8:09:36 GMT -5 origami said:

Try looking for Korean spas (or other Asian), also called a jjimjilbang. They usually allow kids under 18 with a parent. Most, if not all, of it will be sex-segregated though and the massages are likely to be deep-tissue (painful) so you’d have to make sure they knew to take it easy. Otherwise I would look at places with all those things that aren’t luxury spas. Maybe a hotel would do an over-the-clothes or chair massage for a child if they won’t do a real one.

I searched that in Vegas and come up with a spa right away- children age 7 and up are welcome! I wonder how that works- I tend to agree with auntie, that most adults don't want kids running around the spa; maybe they have a "family" area. I could do OT for rigorous sensory treatment; this I'd like to do just for fun. 

glad you found one! They’re not normally like western spas - the ones I’ve been to at least. The ambiance is not silent/dripping water/nature music. It’s more like a health club kind of feel except with a bunch of pools. The massages I got were over-the-clothes and in a common area with men and women in the same room. People talking through the whole treatment. I’m not sure how they are in the US but in Korea the sex-segregated pools are fully nude so that’s something to check out in advance. They might have common area pools & saunas for everyone though. Depends on the size.