Adults have a wide range of pools and water treatments to choose from whenever they travel for work or holiday, or visit their local health centre or gym. Whether swimming for fitness or leisure, enjoying a relaxing hydromassage, or indulging in a full water spa treatment, there’s something to suit every taste.
How can children benefit from wellness pools and what type of pools and activities can be offered for children visiting hotels, resorts and Thermoludic spas? Just like grown-ups, children can benefit from swimming and relaxing in water and there are multiple ways to integrate a child friendly spa into your hotel or Thermoludic spa center.
Below are our top reasons why a child friendly spa should be part of your offering, as well as our design recommendations for kids’ pools.
Many parents choose to teach their children to swim for safety reasons. This is of course an important skill that averts dangers later in life. However, swimming and playing in water can have multiple other benefits for young ones. Moreover, a child friendly spa or a Thermoludic spa center is safe, fun and engaging for children of all ages.
A children’s wellness space can be seen as a playground zone, but also the first introduction to the world of wellness for children. While facilities are adapted to kids’ needs, the children’s spa largely copies an adult version, familiarising them with the sort of activities and treatments they can get when they grow up.
A children’s wellness space can include a number of facilities, which will keep them busy and entertained while parents relax in the adult spa. Here are a few ideas for a children’s spa features:
- Small thermal lagoon – a shallow pool with thermal water featuring water beds, puddle games, water currents and a water cannon
- Jacuzzis – a small hydromassage zone can be great fun and also relaxing for young ones
- Soft beach – as part of a child friendly spa, a sensory and games area with shapes to stretch or sit on will provide entertainment
- Salon / treatment centre – kids can also benefit from some great treatments designed for them, including manicures and pedicures and yoghurt face masks. All products will be designed for children specifically
- Fitness area/gym – children can take part in groups classes such as yoga, and lots of fun games to keep them fit and active
- Children’s sauna – while not your typical sauna, a relaxation zone with wooden benches in a warm room can be added to your children’s spa and kids can take part in some guided activities there (for example, listening to stories or music).
Overall, the children’s spa can include both active, fitness-orientated facilities such as swimming pools and mini-gyms, and more relaxation-focused facilities that are normally associated with adults’ spas. The kids can enjoy adapted versions of the adult offers, learning about wellness and developing an appetite for using spas later in life. And all this is done while the parents relax in their own spa, too.
Adding a children’s pool and wellness space to your spa means you will need to take into account safety features as well as bespoke dimensions and design considerations. Aimed at children under 12, pools of this kind don’t need to be as large as adult pools, while their depth will be significantly shallower.
Here are our recommendations on designing children’s wellness pools for your facility:
- Geometry: You can opt for a small rectangular pool for children to swim in, or go for round designs which make it more conducive to playing around in. In any case, children’s pools don’t need to stick to a specific geometry.
- Temperature: Aim to keep the water temperature between 32⁰ and 34⁰C. Children are more active and move around more in a pool, even if it’s just a relaxation space. This is why the water can be kept cooler.
- Depth: of the recommended depth range for children’s pools is 0.3 to 0.6 m, based on the expected height of children from 3 to 12 years old.
- Water treatment and recirculation: Aim to recirculate the water often, ideally every 20-30 minutes. To prevent any infections and diseases, we recommend using the Neolysis system, a single reactor combining salt chlorination with UV radiation for disinfection.
- Finish: Ceramic or vitreous tiling work best.
- Construction system: We recommend a concrete basin.
Including a children’s wellness centre in your offering and ensuring your spa is child friendly makes kids and parents happy, while ensuring that all your guests continue to enjoy your spa or water space without being disturbed. Moreover, having a children’s pool will attract young ones looking for swimming lessons or just fun with their parents – enlarging your customer base. Finally, a children’s wellness facility will delight the little ones while also developing their taste for using spas later in life.
Ensure the utmost care is taken to clean and disinfect children’s pools and that lifeguards are always present. Apart from that, just let the little ones enjoy their time in and out of the water and reap the benefits!
* This information contains general recommendations that must be taken into consideration on a case by case basis. This information is not an instruction manual and can not be considered as such for any purpose. Any implementation or installation to be made must be made by a professional and under the appropriate guidelines. In this regard, each user is responsible for the application it makes of the information contained herein. Fluidra will not be responsible for its use. Consequently, Under no circumstances will Fluidra be liable or responsible for any claim, damages or loss that may arise as a consequence of the use of this information.