my wife is killing me.

[benalexe]

she just sent me this email...


http://tapasmdblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/hot-tubs-children.html

Can we seriously consider if we really want this.

She tends to see the negative in a lot of stuff.

[tony]

Any body of water can be a hazard for small children, including a bath tub.  Modern portable spas have addressed all the concerns in that blog.  Those issues seem to be aimed either at older portable spas and/or spas that are part of an inground pool.

Hot tubs must be covered and the cover should be locked down when not in use.  This would prevent small children from getting to the water without supervision.

Modern tubs all have bypasses or multiple inlets to prevent suctions from entrapping children or adults, their fingers, hair, etc underwater.  This does not allow any inlet create a vacuum that would be difficult to escape from.

Water temps are user programable.  You should keep your spa at 98 - 99 for small children.  You can bump it up when adults only are using it.  No different than a childs bath.  You can run a bath up to 110, but you wouldn't for a small child.  You put your hand in to be sure its a proper temp.  At least with a spa, you can set the temp...though always check with your hand before getting in.

You certainly have to be cautious with a spa but if you set and follow certain guidelines, you should have no problems.  Many with youg children own and enjoy their spas.

[Zep]

not saying tubs are are risk free
but there are risks with almost anything
you could probably do a similiar story on cars

"cars pose significant risks to children"
"dont exceed speed limit with children in car"
"make sure children are seat belted while in car"
"children more prone to injury in car accidents"
"dont use alcohol while operating a car with children riding"

or you could do one on bicycles

[James]

Dear Bena,

I read in that article that the warmer temperates in hot tubs which frequently exceed warm bath water, is a hidden threat to children, and especially infants, who can not self regulate their body temperatures well.

I disagree with this. As most home owners can tell you, a hot water tank in a home, and as a result a hot bath, can get MUCH hotter then a hot tub. The risk of  over heating in a bath tub is much higher then in  a hot tub.

For many years now, there has been a particular retailer who uses dire scare tactics in his sales MO to plant the seed that some tubs are death traps and that because his attention to safety, his brand was ultimately safer.

4 or 5 years ago, I did as much research as I could into drownings in portable hot tubs. The fact is, that drowning in a portable hot tub is a very rare phenomena.

As best as I can recall, since 1970, the average deaths per year in a residential portable hot tub was about 30 to 35.  While even one death is one too many, these numbers were not alarming considering the amount of spas there are in use.

The surprising number was that of those deaths, almost 75% of those deaths were of children under 5 while left unattended.

My point is that with even the minimum of parental do diligence, you'll have years of safe family relaxation and enjoyment from your hot tub.

Keep an eye on those little ones.

[Zep]

"the average deaths per year in a residential portable hot tub
was about 30 to 35"

wow James thats a bit of a surprise for me.

is that worldwide or just in the US?

i would have never guessed more than two people a month are croaking in hot tubs!

[Swell-Tub]

I read an article years ago about deaths in hot tubs and 90% of then were alcohol related. Just like driving, too much wine and too much hot water and you sink away to the other side. Our neighbor had drank beer all day long and climbed into his hot tub. If his wife had not found him and pulled him out he would have been a goner.

Scott  

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

And as I recall, more children drown in toilets every year.

Some stats;
Drowning is the second leading cause of death in children ages 1-14 in the United States.
Young children can drown in as little as 1 inch of water.
Children under age one most often drown in bathtubs, buckets, or toilets
Most young children who drowned in swimming pools had been out of sight less than five minutes
Children aged 1-4 are most at risk to drown in hot tubs, spas and swimming pools.
Since 1980, more than 230 children ages 4 and under have drowned in spas and hot tubs (from a 2006 article).
Every year, about 300 toddlers (under 4) drown in residential swimming pools
More than half of drownings among infants (under age 1) occur in bathtubs.
It is estimated that 30 children drown annually in buckets.



Prevention is not that hard. It simply requires the responsibility of complete and total supervision.

CONSTANTLY Supervise Children in the Water

Keep your cover SECURELY latched when not in use.
Keep doors locked in a way your child can't get outside.
Don't talk to others when supervising kids in the spa. It is too easy to be distracted.
Constantly scan the water.
Check every face in the water every 10 seconds.
Be able to reach every child within 20 seconds.
Call for backup if you are unable to devote 110% of your attention to the children.
Tell swimmers to let you know immediately if someone might need help.
Do not allow head dunking.
Think ahead.
Be mindful of double drownings.

[Vinny]

First, little children CAN NOT tolerate high temps of a tub. Most kids in a bathtub are less than waste deep in water. It is possible to have the whole child submergered in water in a hot tub. But the truth of the matter is don't believe anything on the internet - ask your Pediatrician!

From my own experience ... my youngest who was about 2 at the time fell into a inground pool because he wanted to go to his mother. So he went straight to her without thinking about that pool. Without breaking stride he ran right into the pool, I was 10 feet away from him and was able to grab him once he fell in. He did go under but a few people were there to get him as well. What Doc said is 150% correct as far as supervision. We own an AG pool and the tub and kids are not allowed to do certain things in either.

Anyone can drown dringing a glass of water. I didn't look at the article but common sense prevails and since we're talking children - ask serious questions to those in the know. Old hot tubs may be a danger of having someone get stuck, old pools have that same problem but as was said modern tubs and pools are safer due to the accidents from earlier models.

[Swell-Tub]

A close friend of ours had her small child fall into the gutter in front of the house. It was like a small canal and about 12 inches deep. It was during the spring runoff and the water was going very fast. They found him dead and stuck against a grate. They did revive him with CPR and to this day he has very serious brain damage. Don't blame spa's, small children are surrounded with opportunities to hurt themselves. It is the same as guns don't kill people, people kill people. You need to take responsibility for your surroundings. If you can't protect your children from proper use of the tub then don't get one. I have 5 grandsons under the age of 4 and we are raising one of them who is 7 months old. The doors will be locked and the cover on the spa will be snapped down as soon as he starts to crawl or walk. Another idea is to place a bar across the top of the tub and padlock it down on the sides so only those with a key can use it. Good luck.....

Scott

[savethehumans]

A toaster is dangerous yet we all have them.

This article is talking to the lowest common denominator of human, non-rational. I am sorry but if you let your 5 year olds in the hot tub without you around, darwinism takes over.  Use standard precautions like I assume you do with everything in your house and all is well.

We drop the tub temp to 99 degrees when our nieces and nephews come over, and I would say them using it like a pool and jumping all over causes the biggest risk, as they cant see all the contours under the water, and its a matter of time before one of them busts a lip or twists an ankle on the foot massager.

Bubbles are fun, but not for our children to live in.  I dont see hot tubs as a risk unless you are the problem.

[wewannahottub]

not saying tubs are are risk free
but there are risks with almost anything
you could probably do a similiar story on cars

"cars pose significant risks to children"
"dont exceed speed limit with children in car"
"make sure children are seat belted while in car"
"children more prone to injury in car accidents"
"dont use alcohol while operating a car with children riding"

or you could do one on bicycles

It's unbelievable the idiots I see with kids bouncing around the backs of their cars!!

[savethehumans]

I give my parents a break as awareness wasnt as great in the 70s and 80s, but I remember sitting/sleeping up in the back of the car in the "shelf" behind the seat of the Torino...like a little child rocket!  If we got in an accident with my sister and I up there we would have been missiles.

Then again i dont even know if that car had shoulder straps, like folding a person in half during an accident was a great idea lol...or just the people in the back.

Strange days.

[Vinny]

I give my parents a break as awareness wasnt as great in the 70s and 80s, but I remember sitting/sleeping up in the back of the car in the "shelf" behind the seat of the Torino...like a little child rocket!  If we got in an accident with my sister and I up there we would have been missiles.

Then again i dont even know if that car had shoulder straps, like folding a person in half during an accident was a great idea lol...or just the people in the back.

Strange days.

It's not that it's was strange but there is evolution. Everything evolves to a new level then evolves again and not for the best. Cars went from no seatbelts to lap belts to shoulder harnesses but even today there are some vehicles that still only have a lap belt in the rear middle seat. We even evolved to have front air bags to side air bags to now side curtain air bags ... again an evolution. A friend's son had a baby and he wouldn't let the child sleep at the grandparents house in the same crib he slept in because of the "new standards" of the bar spacing, stupid IMO. Of course the son didn't think that he is standing there talking to his dad and used that crib himeself - without injury but the "new standard" made that crib dangerous. I 100% agree with the seat belt law for kids and I do believe that a 3 YO can enjoy a pool as long as that 3 YO is being supervised the entire time he/she is in there. Floaties are great as long as a guardian is next to the child in the water "just in case".

Even people evolve ... or bodies used to be covered entirely with hair, as time rolled around and climates changed and we wore clothes hair was no longer needed for protection which is why we look the way we do today; 5000 years froim now the human race might be completely hairless. Of course there are still some people who are hairier than others, I wonder what that means?

[Zep]

[size=18]Child Nearly Drowns In Hot Tub[/size]

April 29, 2008

KOLD News 13 Anchor Heather Rowe

An 18-month-old child was rushed to Northwest Hospital before 8 o'clock Tuesday.
Northwest Fire crews were called to 3700 block of West Brambly Place after a toddler
was found in the hot tub at the home.

Adam Goldberg with Northwest Fire says the parents lost track of the toddler.
CPR was performed on the child, who is in critical condition.

http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=8247530&nav=14RTYs76

[Swell-Tub]

One of our cars is a Toyota Avalon, it has so many air bags that if we hit something it is going to be like the Fourth of July. It has airbags in the side columns and in sides of the seats. We even have them in the rear. But just to show you all that I have not yet evolved, I never wear a helmet when I ride my bicycle. Of course at my age I don't go far and I don't go fast. Just to show you how stupid I can be I didn't wear a helmet on my motorcycle before I moved to Nevada and it is a law.

See I like living on the edge. I like taking risks. I sit in hot tubs for up to an hour. I drink hot drinks and then spill them on me. For exercise I take a bath and then pull the plug and fight the current. I drink soft drinks instead of bottled water. You see I'm a Wild Hog living on the edge looking for risks wherever I can find them. Heck I don't plan to live forever. It is people like me who keep people at the Hospital Emergency departments employed.

So be a little smarter than me but enjoy life and watch your children.

Scott