Kids in hot tub - worried

[Hottubbing]

In a rental house with a hot tub, we let the kids go in this afternoon. They were loving it but I've now looked it up as I had a niggling feeling and saw you shouldn't let kids under 5 in them, and no more than 5 minutes.

DS is only 4 and I'm not sure how long we were in it but I'd say 20 minutes, maybe even more?

What are the risks, and would they be obvious by now? I was feeling thirsty when I came out so I've also been giving them lots of water but they seemed quite sleepy when they came out, acting normal now.

Could heat stroke/heat exhaustion still hit later? Water temperature was 37.

DS was on our laps or standing a lot so not entirely in the whole time by any means but still, I feel like a terrible parent.

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I think it’s to do with the temperature and bacteria. I’m sure they will be fine though at 37 degrees isn’t too hot, that’s more like a bath isn’t it! And they will have chemicals in there to to make sure it stays clean x

They will be fine OP. No need to stress.

A very hot bath will be over 37.

they’ll be fine.

there’s whole countries that have temperatures above 40 for multiple days.

Its fine. Its more likely that the issue is that they’re deep and easy to slip under, so children need strict supervision, plus the heat issue when little ones find it harder to regulate temperature, but as PP said, no hotter than a warm bath.

I’d imagine there’s an element of not wanting little ones in the hot tub in case they pee in it too, but then again, by the sound of what some adults get up to in them, a bit of wee is the least of your worries.

I'm currently at a holiday home with a hot tub. Kids have been in it for the past 2 nights for at least an hour or so at a time. No one is poorly.🤷‍♀️

It’s absolutely fine this time. The main issue is that kids find it harder to regulate their body temp so shouldn’t be in high temps for long but if they are fine now, they are fine. Other issue is if they swallow water higher there is a chance of nasty bugs at that temp. And the worst, rare, but happened to a child at a friend’s school - if unsupervised and playing underwater hair can get stuck in the jets, so it’s a drowning hazard.

It’s if they put their heads under water their hair can get caught and they can drown

My friend worked at a leisure club 20 odd years ago. I remember her telling me about a time parents took their 2 year old into the hot tub - she spotted it and made them take him out… he was head to toe covered in bruises from it.

Thanks I'm reassured about the temperature and any effects from that. Dd7 did put her head under at one point though and coughed/swallowed a bit of water. (Sort of thing that happens multiple times at the pool, but it just happened once). Should I be really worried about bacteria? Or even secondary drowning?

How on earth did the hot tub cause bruises? That needed police calling imo. The risk with hot tubs is because children are more susceptible to heat stroke! Bruises?

In short, no. As long as the tub has the correct chemicals (does it smell of chlorine?), then there is less risk of bacteria than swimming in the sea or a public swimming pool.

No one has ever drowned from swallowing a mouthfull of pool/spa water.

Relax and have fun, but don't let her in unsupervised, as with any body of water drowning is a real risk.

Gosh the Internet is a terrible place. I am really worried she's going to get legionnaires disease now.

I am confident about the maintenance of the hot tub and it does smell of chlorine but there seems to be much more risk from inhaling hot tub water than pool water.

Your children will be fine. DC’s aunt has one. Mine have been going in it regularly for years. Supervised and for short bursts when younger. Still here to tell the tale! Honestly, the risk to DC (apart from drowning) is temperature. A bath cools down, hot tubs don’t. Kids overheat far more easily than adults. 20 minutes of mermaiding about isn’t going to harm them. Also, rental properties will make sure the water is clean/chemicals are accurately measured. There is probably more risk - disease/chemical wise - in someone’s home one.

Thank you! Have your DCs ever accidentally ingested some?

I’m sure they have. One in particular liked to put goggles on and flail about a bit underwater.

Is there a risk to their bowels also? I’m sure I read an article once about the dangers of the jets, that they can perforate their bowels if they say directly on one.

No idea and maybe I’m misremembering something but it was a long, long time ago now. She did explain to me the issue

They get bruises by putting body too close to jets/filters that suck and blow. My DD once got a nasty bruise from one in a private pool in someone’s house. It sucked her thigh like a hoover.

Ex lifeguard here. Children aren't so good at regulating their temperatures, so there is a risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Heat exhaustion makes you dizzy and sweaty etc. Heat stroke is a medical emergency.

There's also the risk of drowning, especially if starting to experience heat exhaustion.

And o believe children are more at risk of ear infections and similar types of infections with any bacteria that the chlorine hasn't killed.

I think you need some professional help. It’s not normal to be this anxious about a hot tub

That’s simply not true. It’s perfectly ‘normal’ for a loving, caring parent to be concerned about something that could potentially cause their DC harm. It doesn’t mean they need professional help at all!

Kids are more prone to ear infection when using them apparently

We have a hot tub. We keep it at 37 degrees and my kids have been in it for hours at a time with no bad effects. They're 9 and 11 thought. Although when younger they also went in for ages and ages. They have had jets on and jets off, been under the water, swallowed water etc. It's just the same as being in a bath for a couple of hours?