Bathhouse in China Offers 'Dad Rental' Service While Tired Moms Bathe, Gaining Explosive Attention

Helper watches son while mom takes a bath
"Essential from a mom's perspective with a son" praised

A bathhouse in China has attracted attention by introducing a 'Dad Rental' service for tired mothers. This service places male assistants to take care of young children while the mothers bathe and relax.

On the 2nd (local time), Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) focused on a unique public bathhouse in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. This bathhouse recently launched the 'Dad Rental' service, gaining explosive interest on local social networking services (SNS) and other platforms.

The Dad Rental service is a customized offering for female customers who bring their young children, especially sons. While the mother enjoys bathing and sauna, trained male assistants bathe and dress the sons on her behalf. Afterwards, the assistants guide the sons to a designated location where the mother can pick them up.

The photo is for illustrative purposes only and is not related to any specific expressions in the article.

This service is provided free of charge to female customers, and the bathhouse explains that it "offers convenience, peace of mind, and an enjoyable experience to all mothers."

Chinese netizens who heard the news responded mostly positively, saying things like "It's a really cute service," "It should be expanded nationwide," and "It's a much-needed service for tired mothers."

One netizen said, "As a mother who has to take care of her son, it was usually difficult to freely use the bathhouse," adding, "If I could be freed from childcare even for just a few hours, I would definitely want to try it no matter how expensive the bathhouse fee is."

Bathhouse advertisement for the "Dad Rental" service posted on China's social networking service (SNS) Weibo. [Image source=Weibo]

However, some expressed concerns, saying, "It might be uneasy to entrust a young child to a stranger."

Meanwhile, this is not the first time a service has appeared in the Chinese-speaking world that takes care of children on behalf of mothers. In Hong Kong, there is a system of foreign domestic helpers commonly called 'helpers.' Introduced in 1972, the domestic helper system was implemented to reduce the burden on mothers who have to manage both work and childcare.

Domestic helpers receive wages and food allowances set separately by the Hong Kong government, not the statutory minimum wage. According to a report released by the Hong Kong government, before the implementation of the domestic helper system, only 49% of women aged 25 to 54 participated in the labor market, but after its implementation, female labor market participation surged to 78%.

Singapore, which has a high proportion of Chinese population, also operates a similar domestic helper system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.