At the spa, babies can get a massage—because, of course—and hydrotherapy in which the wee ones float around in a warm pool for 10 to 30 minutes with a flotation device around their necks to keep them above water. Baby Spa has posted pics of their clients floating around and it’s so stinking cute. Evidence:
A post shared by Baby Spa Perth, AUSTRALIA (@babyspaperth) on Mar 16, 2017 at 6:15pm PDT
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According to Baby Spa’s website, the hydrotherapy can do all sorts of valuable things, like increase the baby’s muscular and skeletal strength, help with their digestive system, increase lung capacity (the subtle water pressure on their chests makes their lungs work harder), and teach innate swimming reflexes. Appointments cost $85 AUD each (which translates to about $66 USD).
But before you book your ticket to Perth, keep this in mind: Shahrouz Ganjian, M.D., a board-certified pediatrician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., says doing a spa day with your baby can be beneficial because it’s “mommy and me” time, but other than that…yeah, no. “The only place where aquatic therapy is shown to be beneficial is in kids with developmental delays,” he says. “Research doesn’t show that it is or isn’t beneficial in normal kids so, as of now, I can’t recommend it.”
However, he points out, it’s a nice experience and you are building happy memories with your tike. So, if you happen to be in Perth and feel like snapping some seriously Instagrammable shots of your baby, Baby Spa is probably worth a go. But if you’re looking to give your kid a leg up over the pediatric competition, you’ll probably do just as well talking to them in the tub.