How to Create a Family Friendly Sauna for a Safe and Enjoyable Experience for All Ages

When investing in an outdoor sauna kit for your home, you’ll want to consider your family. If you plan on having your family use the sauna, look into designing it in a way that will ensure safety and comfort for everyone. At SaunaFin, we offer customizable sauna kits that allow you to design the interior of your sauna to suit your needs. This will allow you to improve the accessibility and seating capacity of your sauna for family use. Depending on whether you have children, elderly family members and/or family members with certain health conditions, you may also want to establish sauna rules that will help keep everyone safe. Adding some sauna accessories to your sauna sessions can also promote safety and increase enjoyability as well. At SaunaFin, we offer a variety of outdoor and indoor home saunas along with various sauna heaters to ensure that you get a tailored sauna experience. Contact us today for a free quote on one of our products. 

Read on to learn more about how you can foster a family-friendly sauna to provide a safe and enjoyable experience. 

Comfortability

Enhancing comfort in your sauna is key to ensuring that it is enjoyable for all of your family members. The size of your sauna should definitely be considered when sauna shopping. If you have a larger sauna, you may want to consider options that maximize space effectively and that allow for a higher capacity. Barrel saunas are known for providing plenty of space for sauna bathers due to their rounded design. This may be something to consider if you plan to host many people or a large family in your sauna. 

You’ll also want to consider seating when establishing comfortability in your sauna. You’ll need to ensure that everyone is able to sit comfortably for an optimal experience. You can accommodate more people by having two layers of bench seating in a cabin-style sauna. This allows you to almost double the capacity of your sauna without needing so much extra space. 

If you have family members who may have mobility issues or members who are in wheelchairs, look into designing a sauna that is more accessible. Perhaps this can be done by selecting a seating arrangement that maximizes the floor space for easier movement. Incorporating handrails or choosing a sauna with a larger door can also help in this regard. 

Sauna Rules and Etiquette

Establishing sauna rules and etiquette is extremely important, especially when children or older adults are going to be using the sauna. Children of any age can use saunas; however, some doctors normally recommend that children shouldn’t begin using them until they are six years of age, as young children aren’t really maximizing the benefits of sauna use. It can be quite an intense experience for them. If you have younger children and really want to promote family togetherness, look into SaunaFin’s Luna - Knotty Cedar sauna. It has a small amount of bench seating on the outside of the sauna, so your younger children can still sit with you while you are reaping the benefits of sauna use. 

If you have children who are six and older, you’ll still want to monitor their sauna use carefully to ensure that they are safe. Establish some sauna rules for your kids, such as:

• Adults must be present with a child if they want to use the sauna. This will ensure that they are being monitored in the chance that they become tired or overwhelmed.
• Establish a time limit for children using the sauna. Children’s bodies are smaller, making them heat up faster, so they require a shorter amount of time in the sauna. Anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes is a safe range for children. Teenagers can go for up to 15 minutes. 
• Ensure that your child is aware of the sauna heater and knows not to touch it or adjust the temperature settings. This will avoid overheating and potential burns.
• If you have two tiers of seating in your sauna, your children should always be sitting in the lower tier, as the temperature is not as warm. 
• Ensure that your child is hydrated before entering the sauna and that they rehydrate after using it. 

When it comes to elderly family members, it is important to know whether any health conditions will impact their sauna use. If they have any respiratory, cardiovascular or heart conditions, they should not be using a sauna. If said family member is relatively healthy, you should follow the same rules that have been outlined for children. If they are active and have strong cognitive health, they should be able to use the sauna autonomously.

Sauna Accessories for Enhancing Safety and Enjoyability

Adding certain sauna accessories into your space can help increase safety for family members of all ages. Some accessories can be useful for enhancing comfort:

• Sauna Timer: A sauna timer is a great way to track your sauna sessions to ensure that you prevent dehydration or exhaustion. The optimal amount of time that healthy adults should spend in the sauna is 15 minutes. At SaunaFin, we have a 15-minute sand-timer, which provides a visual cue to let you know when your sauna session is over. 
• Sauna Thermometer: Having a sauna thermometer is extremely helpful for ensuring that your sauna is at an optimal temperature that isn’t too overwhelming for both children and seniors alike. The ideal temperature is between 70 and 90 degrees Celsius. You can keep your sauna slightly lower if that makes the family more comfortable as well. Having a thermometer just gives you more control over maintaining a safe and comfortable temperature.
• Sauna Rocks: Sauna rocks are a great addition to any sauna if you are looking to improve comfortability. Sauna rocks sit on top of your sauna heater and help distribute the water much more evenly and effectively. This reduces hot and cool spots in your sauna space. Sauna rocks can also be used to generate steam, which may be a bonus!

Create a Safe and Comfy Space for the Family

When investing in an outdoor sauna kit, you’ll want to do what you can to customize it in a way that enhances safety and comfort for your family. If you plan on hosting people or want to spend quality family time in the sauna, you’ll want to ensure it is designed in a way that is comfortable for all family members. And if you want your kids to reap the benefits of sauna use, you should have some well-established sauna rules in place to ensure that they remain safe. The addition of certain sauna accessories can also enhance the sauna experience and ensure that your sauna remains safe and comfy. If you are interested in purchasing a home sauna or a new sauna heater, contact SaunaFin today! 

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