If you have a hot tub, and small children are going to be around it, you should know the safety precautions to take before letting them get in. While there is no specific age restriction for children and hot tubs, there are guidelines that hot tub owners should follow.

In general, infants and toddlers should not be allowed in the hot tub. Children this young cannot dissipate heat in the same way that adults can. This also means that you should not leave them unattended around a hot tub. As you may know, if you tell children not to do something, that doesn’t mean they won’t do it.

Older children, above toddler age, can withstand the hot tub heat better than toddlers and infants, but you should monitor them. The time frame for these kids in a hot tub ranges from five to 20 minutes. It’s a good idea to check on them every five minutes, to see how they feel.

Even if children can handle the heat, hot tubs come with other risks. Watch young children closely around hot tub drains. While newer hot tubs are built to ensure no one can get stuck in drains, older hot tubs don’t always have this feature. As always, make sure you keep an eye on your kids and don’t let them put their head under the water.

A child’s age is not the only reason why they can’t enter a hot tub, their size is also important to consider. Even if a child is five, they may be very small for their age, and be at the same risk as a toddler in a hot tub.

There are many different guidelines for the age of children in hot tubs, but nothing concrete. What age do you think is acceptable for a child to be in a hot tub?

Tags: Children, hot tub, safety