The "Kiddie Spa" Trend
Thursday July 10, 2008
I told a friend's 13-year-old recently that I'm a spa writer. "I've never had a massage," she said wistfully, looking at her mom like she was terribly deprived. By now she may have. More and more kids are showing up at spas, in part because Moms want to bring their daughters along, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal called "Spas Go All Out To Give Kids The Treatment." Two moms with daughters checked out five different spas across the country. And while they tried to scare up a controversy because one therapist confessed to massaging a four-year-old (flouting age restrictions), they had a good experience. The biggest problem they personally faced was that a 15-year-old didn't get an ice cream cone during her pedicure at Scooops Kids Spa at the Great Wolf Lodge in Scotrun, Pa., and thought her massage should have been harder. "Spas also clearly see an opportunity with the kiddie market," the article read. "Hooking kids on pricey pedicures and facials when they are young can lead to decades of repeat business."
Comments
As both a massage therapist and a mother of 4, I can honestly say that I think comes down to the approach. Spa for health and wellness can be beneficial at any age. Spa owners should be considerate of adults wanting a retreat from noise and stress, but that should be part of the environment. Massage has such a wide range of benefits, as does healthy skin and body care; raising awareness early shouldn’t be a bad thing. Every “body” could benefit from healthy lifestyle choices.