picture of a hot tub in a beautiful garden

Can young children use hot tubs? Expert guidance following distressing Coronation Street storyline

This week, Coronation Street has aired a disturbing storyline involving young Bertie Osbourne, who falls into his neighbours’ hot tub whilst trying to retrieve a football, almost drowning. The hot tub belongs to Tim and Sally Metcalfe and is in the neighbour’s garden, however, Bertie wanders off whilst Jenny Connor (who is looking after him) gets distracted by a call.

Whilst this is extremely rare, it highlights the important issue of children’s safety around hot tubs - whether at home, a holiday home or in a hotel. Hot tubs can be an exciting and adventurous treat for children; however, the episode raises considerations for parents around safety.

Sarah Watkins, Head of Marketing at Platinum Spas warns,

“As much fun as they can be, hot tubs are not suitable for children of all ages. While there are no official hot tub age restrictions in the UK, the consensus among health officials is that children should not go in any hot tub if they are below the age of five.

“This is because children’s bodies are not yet able to properly regulate their body temperature, meaning they’ll get dehydrated quickly and could suffer from heat stroke without realising it. On top of this, hot tub water, while not scalding hot for adults, has the potential in rare cases to burn the skin of young children, which is thinner and more sensitive to temperature changes and impacts.”

Discussing best practice for older children, Sarah adds,

“Older children should be supervised at all times when the hot tub is filled and in use. In most cases, it’s best to be sensible and treat children using hot tubs as you would when taking your children swimming or walking by large bodies of water.”

“Although recommended hot tub age restrictions in the UK settle on five and above being the minimum age at which a child can first enter a hot tub, that’s not to say that it is entirely suitable for them to do so. For example, high temperatures can still have a sizable impact on children over five, so if you do intend on letting them enter a hot tub at this age, then the ideal hot tub temperature is 35 degrees or below, with soaking times kept to 10 minutes at most.”

9 tips for keeping children safe around hot tubs

To ensure your child is safe when using a hot tub for the first time or at a young age, Sarah Watkins, Head of Marketing at Platinum Spas said,

No children under 5 – No children under the age of five should be allowed in a hot tub, even with adult supervision.
Supervise your hot tub at all times – Unless your children are in their teens, you should not let any children use your hot tub unsupervised. That way, you can avoid any unexpected accidents and stop any curious kids from trying the hot tub water.
Make your tub comfortable – In addition to being present when your older children are using your hot tub, you also want to make sure that it’s been set up to be safe during use. For example, this means checking that your shortest child can safely stand at the lowest part of the hot tub while still having their head above water, as well as introducing booster seats and armbands so they can sit down or float comfortably.
Stick to short soak times –It’s best to keep to shorter soak times if young children are using a hot tub, with 10-15 minutes per soak being more than enough before they need to exit the water.
Keep the temperature low – Aim to keep your hot tub temperature to 35 degrees or lower if children are using it to avoid accidental burns.
Consider a hat and towels - In wintry weather, make sure your children have a warm hat on that they don’t mind getting wet so that their head stays warm, and make sure you have dry towels and clothes close to hand when they step out so they can immediately wrap up warm.
Have drinks ready – When your children do exit the hot tub, make sure that you have some refreshing drinks ready for them so that they can rehydrate quickly.
Help your children exit – Particularly relevant for young children, it’s always best to help kids exit and enter a hot tub for safety purposes, rather than letting them dive in or jump out and potentially hurt themselves.
Keep your tub secure – When not in use or left unsupervised, it’s always a good idea to lock your hot tub up with a secure cover and hide away hot tub chemicals so that children can’t access them.