Some experts and parents question whether spa treatments are appropriate or necessary for kids.
Diane E. Levin, a professor of education and a researcher on children and commercial culture at Wheelock College in Boston, says that getting kids used to spa treatments is akin to training them to be little Paris Hiltons.
“It worries me because it just tells them that happiness comes from how you look and from buying instead of learning how to do things,” Levin says. “It’s this externalized sense of self and how one fits in the world. If you go to a spa you’re happy for the day, but you haven’t done anything internally to lead to real happiness, success or value.”
Levin says parents should be more interested in helping children to become compassionate people who are skilled at age-appropriate activities such as swimming, art, baby-sitting or even fort-building.
Mancino says spa and salon treatments are black holes for cash. What’s more, they transform children into looks-obsessed slaves to maintenance.
“It’s ridiculous,” she says. “(Kids) are already beautiful. They don’t need anything. Besides, if you give them all this now, what do they have to look forward to?”
A study by the International Spa Association hints at why not all parents are in synch with Levin or Mancino.
The study found that many adults no longer view spa visits as a luxury but, rather, as a health-care staple. The most common reasons adults say they visit a spa include not only sore joints and muscles, but also to feel better about themselves and for mental and emotional health.
