Can kids use a sauna? Ages and safety
By the Find My Sauna team·
Updated ·
6 min read
Ask a Finnish parent when their child first went in the sauna and they may not remember, because it was so early. Ask a British or American one and they may never have thought about it. Children can use a sauna, but they handle heat differently from adults, so the rules change.
The short answer
Yes, healthy children can use a sauna with an adult, as long as the sessions are much shorter and cooler than an adult's. There's no official minimum age. In Finland babies have traditionally been introduced in their first year, for a few minutes at a time. Keep children on the lowest bench, take them out as soon as they want to leave, give them plenty to drink and never leave them alone. Skip it if a child has a fever, and ask a doctor first if they have a heart or breathing condition.
Why children are different
Children heat up faster than adults and are less good at telling you when they've had enough. Babies in particular can't control their body temperature as well as older children, which is why they get heat rash so easily. Small children also have less fluid to lose, so a few minutes of sweating matters more.
A Finnish paediatric team who studied this point out something else: in a hot sauna, a child's core temperature never settles. It keeps rising for as long as they stay in. The only thing that stops it is getting out.
How Finnish families do it
In Finland, going to the sauna is a family habit, and children are part of it from very early on. A survey in south-western Finland in the 1980s found that children had their first sauna at an average age of four and a half months, and 12% when they were just one month old. Babies stayed in the hot room for less than five minutes at a time.
Finnish parents tend to set limits by experience rather than rules, and children rarely go into a sauna on their own before about the age of seven. The same researchers noted that there are no established guidelines for children, even in Finland.
What the research found
The most detailed study is from 1990, published in Pediatrics. Finnish researchers put 61 children and 20 teenagers and young adults through a 10-minute heat session matching an ordinary Finnish sauna. Everyone's temperature and heart rate went up. Straight afterwards, children under 10 had a drop in blood pressure, and two of them fainted. In children under five, the amount of blood pumped with each heartbeat fell by about a third.
The authors' conclusion was that a sauna puts real demands on a child's circulation, and that small children need close supervision. In other work by the same team, children aged 5–10 lost 0.8% of their body weight in sweat in 10 minutes.
In the 1980s survey, about one in five children reported mild discomfort after the sauna, such as a headache, dizziness, feeling too hot or a racing heart. None of this means the sauna is dangerous for healthy children. It means the adult needs to keep it short and watch closely.
A rough guide by age
These are our suggestions, drawn from Finnish practice, not official rules. A child's own reaction always comes first.
- Babies. There's no agreed age for a first sauna. If you do take a baby in, keep them on your lap on the lowest bench of a mild sauna, for a few minutes at most.
- Toddlers and preschool children. A few minutes at a time on the lowest bench, then out to cool off. Leave the moment they fuss.
- Ages 5–10. Around 5–10 minutes per round, still low down, with breaks and drinks in between.
- Older children and teenagers. Gradually closer to adult sessions, though still shorter than you'd do yourself. Our guide to how long to stay in a sauna covers adult times.
Rules for a family sauna
- Turn the heat down. A Finnish sauna runs at 80–90 °C (176–194 °F). With small children, a cooler room or the lowest bench is kinder. See our guide to sauna temperature for how much difference the height makes.
- Let them come and go. Finnish paediatricians suggest letting children move freely between the hot room, the washing area and somewhere cool.
- Go easy on the water on the stones. Steam scalds. Finnish advice is to use lukewarm water for throwing on the stones when children are in, and keep children well away from the heater.
- Give them a drink. Water before and after, and between rounds.
- Watch for warning signs. A red face that turns pale, crying, sleepiness, dizziness or a headache all mean it's time to get out and cool down.
- Never leave them alone. The younger the child, the closer you stay.
Our sauna safety rules apply to adults too.
Infrared saunas and children
There's almost no research on children in infrared saunas. Infrared cabins are milder, but a child still heats up in one. One manufacturer, Sunlighten, advises using a lower temperature for children and no more than 15 minutes at a time. That seems a sensible ceiling for older children, and much less for little ones.
Who should be careful
- Fever or illness. A child with a fever should not go in, and a sauna won't cure a cold.
- Heart or breathing conditions. Ask your child's doctor how, or whether, they can use a sauna.
- Babies. Talk to your health visitor or paediatrician first.
- Venue rules. Many public saunas and spas set their own minimum age. Check before you go.
This guide is general information, not medical advice.
Family-friendly bathhouses
Korean-style jjimjilbangs are among the few public bathhouses where families with children are a normal sight, though each sets its own age rules. Find My Sauna lists 44 of them. These cities have the most:
Spa Castle New York
New York · Korean spa and pools
Qi Clay Sauna
Atlanta · Jjimjilbang
Spa Riverside
Washington · Jjimjilbang
Frequently asked questions
What age can a child go in a sauna?
There is no official minimum age. Finnish families often bring babies in during their first year for a few minutes, but many venues set their own minimum age. Keep sessions short and cool, and stay with them.
How long can a child stay in a sauna?
A few minutes for small children and around 5 to 10 minutes for school-age children, on the lowest bench. Take them out as soon as they want to leave.
Can babies go in a sauna?
Finnish parents have traditionally taken babies in for less than five minutes at a time. Babies control their temperature less well than older children, so ask your health visitor or doctor first.
Is an infrared sauna safe for kids?
There is very little research. Infrared cabins are milder, but children still heat up quickly, so use a lower setting and keep sessions short.
Can kids use a steam room?
Older children can, for short spells with an adult. Steam rooms are cooler than saunas but very humid, so the same short limits apply.
