Kourtney Kardashian's on-again beau Scott Disick treated their 5-month-old son, Mason, to a massage on Wednesday.
Is her infant too young for swanky spa treatments?
Not so, says Kristi McCarty, the spa director at upscale Turtle Cove Spa, located in the Mountain Harbor Lodge near Hot Springs, Arkansas. The hotel offers a kid-focused spa menu with $45 30-minute, facials, manicures, a $190 "Spa Princess Package" and even yoga.
"I would recommend massages for babies, just to keep their joints limber," McCarty tells UsMagazine.com. "Any kind of virus that might be lying around dormant can be worked out with gentle manipulation and massage. It's also very soothing. Everyone needs human touch."
The spa — which sees 10 to 15 kids a week — modifies its massages for those under 13. "The therapists are much more gentle. We certainly wouldn't do any deep tissue work or anything. We're focused on introducing them to the spa world," McCarty says, adding that kids usually only get kneaded for 30 minutes or less.
For a baby, "we wouldn't use essential oils. A baby's skin is so tender… and they can burn," McCarty says. She would also opt for a female masseuse because she would have a "motherly instinct."
Baby and kid massages are not totally out of the norm, she points out. "A lot of families come in," the spa director says. "It can be like a mother-daughter day, while the dads and boys go fishing."
McCarty also makes sure to play soothing music. "The softer music is more calming, it brings down the blood pressure and helps soothe."
Tell Us: Would you take your baby to get a massage?