I recently got wind of a spa in Australia. Not an ordinary spa, but a special one. What makes this spa so special and worthy of mention is the fact that it is exclusively for babies! Yes, a spa just for the little ones. Australia’s Baby Spa Perth is a massage parlour designed solely for babies and owned by Kavita Kumar and her sister, Anita Yap. At the spa, Kumar and Yap offer hydrotherapy and massage for babies under 6-months-old. The concept of a baby spa was first introduced by Laura Sevenus, who set up the world’s first spa for babies in Kensington, United Kingdom. But Kavita and Anita’s Baby Spa is the only one exclusively for babies. Presently, their Baby Spa only has three locations – Brackenshurt (South Africa), Perth (Australia), and Madrid (Spain) and they hope to expand to other location soon. According to Luxury Launches the sisters have now entertained over 3,500 babies since their inception. “We have had an overwhelming response to Baby Spa Perth since we opened just over 10 months ago” says Kavita. Babies as young as two days old to six months go to the spa to relax in hydrotherapy pools, floating with a specially designed device called a Bubby; the bubby helps keep the babies afloat while they relax. They are then wrapped in a warm towel before being treated to a grape-seed oil massage by trained nurses and staff!
Apparently, the hydrotherapy and massage sessions are much more than luxury for babies. According to the official Baby Spa website, these spa sessions also have important health benefits for the baby such as the stimulation of digestive and circulatory systems, increase in muscular and skeletal strength, not to mention the improvement of sleep patterns. Water floatation is also believed to support the mental and physical development of babies. The waves the babies create by kicking around in the water is said to help improve their balance and coordination ‘and ultimately, support their ability to craw, walk and swim’.
But like everything else, there are those who completely disapprove of the baby spa. Calling it “completely unnecessary, and a waste of money”. There are even those that have gone as far as shaming the promoters of baby spas, accusing them of capitalising on the lovability of babies. And let’s face it, the image of babies floating around in their ‘bubby’ is simply adorable; whether you like babies or not, you’d have to be a monster not to agree.
So, what do you think, if you came across a baby massage parlour, would you take your baby for a day at the spa or not?
By Akaomachi B
Sources: Baby Spa
