Head lice, would you send a child home?

sickness and Diarrhoea

What's S&D?

ditto starexpat - its very contagious and again im subconsiously scratching - and the same as S&D - kids are home for 2+ days

if the child with nits was home, de louced, treated and then combed again the next day to catch any stragglers it would be so much easier

Ffs! No, it's not bubonic plague. BUT it's highly contagious. Why not stop it from spreading? Easy to keep a child home and treat it. Easier than everyone passing it around. It's a hell of a lot worse than a little cold passed around.

And, I've had my class checked out and there is NO lice in my classroom:) hooray!

no there are other ways of dealing with it - have a policy where you spell out exactly how you do that

you could ask parents to tie hair back
you could mention that they have nits and can they please treat/comb/etc
you could remind them that they still have it
you could have leaflets to hand out to them like nurseries do
if a persistent problem then you'd have to look at getting a bit harder with the parent

ramonaquimby Mon 20-Sep-10 18:10:26
you don't ahve to use treatments, best thing is a nit comb and cheap conditioner

your childminder didn't deal with the problem tho if she continually had it

i am actually the childminder and it was my daughter who got it. so maybe i should just have sent child home or refused child entry till parent dealt with it.

you don't ahve to use treatments, best thing is a nit comb and cheap conditioner

your childminder didn't deal with the problem tho if she continually had it

well look at it think way what if your baby had been at the childminders all day with a child that your childminder knew had head lice and you baby caught it. i wouldnt be happy and i know i wasnt when my daughter who was just under a year at the time caught it from a child i watched who continually had it. i was so upset that my baby got it and at that age you dont want to put treatments and stuff in there hair never mind get them to sit still to use nit comb. also the child who had them was a very friendly and cuddle child and it was hard to explain to her not to cuddle the other child without her feeling upset or isolated

how ridiculous that kids should be sent home for having head lice. If it's a recurrent problem look to alternative solutions but singling out a child for having headlice (who most certainly would have caught it from a classmate) is hardly the answer.

i would send home... it drove me nuts when mine were a certain age and they kept getting them... some parents didnt bother to treat them, tea tree oil ffs..DOES NOT WORK

I think schools, nurserys and cms should exclude until parents treat them sensibly with proper treatments..

i dont see it as my job to do this and frankly, having caught them myself from my own kids i dont want to catch them from mindees...yeukkkk

if only our school did that sunny delight

Sunnydelight I totally agree with you. Are you in the UK? Because they do this in America and at my school in the UK, but don't seem to at British schools, nurseries, cms. Why should it be spread?

Our school policy is clear, kids will be sent home with headlice and shouldn't come back until clear with the expectation that treatment will continue. I have no problem with that and would expect a childminder to do the same.

It does surprise me when parents don't take necessary precautions to prevent lice. We got a note home a year ago and diligently put DD in french plaits every day. Her friends mum was pretty laid back about it and didn't even put her DDs hair back. WE had a sleepover shortly after. And half the girls appeared at school on Monday with wet hair. Am thinking that PROBABLY girl who never wore braids brought them to the party.

YUCK!!!!

I never had lice as a kid. And have still never had them. They are gross. yuck. yuck. yuck. Why are they everywhere today?

If my child went to a childminder, I would appreciate knowing my child had lice before I got to the door to pick them up s I could go by Tesco before I got there and pick up the treatment.

Just an idea (I realise not really your job), butperhaps if you are a CM and you had boxes of the treatment and offered to give it to parents at pickup (at cost) you would find they use it before morning.

No, children should not be sent home. A complete over-reaction.

Its headlice! No, children should not be sent home.

but if you sent them home the parents would make some effort

head lice happens, its a fact of life, but no child should keep getting it

if the parents or even nannys/carers etc combed through EVERY day and de nitted and used special combs/conditioner etc then it would go

and yes worse on long hair but my ex dc b6 got it as well and had very short back and sides

I work in KS2
Probably half the girls are crawling with lice
If we sent them all home the school would be empty

i think maybe if a child continually had them and it seems as if the parent wasnt doing anything then i may ask for the child not to come back until treated or ask for the permission to treat them myself

Agree with Strix. Also, I wouldn't want to loose money for closing if I had them (which I have had not that long ago!)

I think Looney'spolicy is fair. I would only go pick up a child from the CM if it was in the contract that I was required to do so.

I can understand why the CM would not want lice there, but I can also understand that picking the child up would constitute a service not provided and therefore as a parent I would probably expect not to pay for that day (unless it was agreed in contract of course).

I did teach 5-7 and now 6-8s. Not a British school. Parents there are pretty vigilant about it and would care for it immediately if noticed (and have done so IME). All surfaces thoroughly disinfected by cleaners (and me ) daily. Hoovered daily. No cushions or communal clothes/hats... OCD? moi? no....

I have long hair I wear it down, teaching for 10 years - never ever a single nit/louse - not even as a child. Maybe they don't like me??

starexpat, yes the bugs are probably crawling about your classroom

tbh im surprised YOU havent had them yet being a teacher - what age do you teach?

nursery/reception seem to be the worst offenders

i remember in my ex dc nursery when i helped out there was a girl whose head was covered and hair literally moved and nursery wouldnt name and shame

i would HAPPILY name and shame

and now im subconsciously scratching my head at the thought of it

at the idea that they could be crawling around my classroom.

In my school we typically do know, though as parents are so embarrassed about it and go totally OTT to prevent.