To think they should bring back nit nurses?

[Rachtoteach]

First day back after half term yesterday. A nice, lice free half-term I should add. Doing my little girl's hair for school this morn, she is caked in nits and eggs. I couldn't send her into school - how could I when it would then have just spread and I would have been as bad as the mums I moan about who dont appear to give a toss. I had to take my son in anyway so went into talk to my daughter's teacher. I expressed my upset that it has now come to the point (headlice has been going on and on and on since Sept) that I have felt the need to keep her off school. I know its not the teachers fault. She said unfortunately some parents simply dont treat/check and until whole class is treated at same time, problem will continue. So for WITW I have bought yet another treatment which has to be applied over night and washed off in the morning. I have my daughter at home (she is 5) and I am supposed to be at work. I really think they should bring back nit nurses so all children are checked and treated!!

Habanera- you say the bullying and stigma have been horrible. This surprises me, actually- I've never heard of nit based bullying. But if it does happen, your idea would obviously make it worse- the nit nurse pointing fingers at individuals would make things far worse, surely?

Seeker all children get nits not just those from disadvantaged homes.

Combing is simply not practical for a lot of parents(see my previous post)particularly those with several dc and with 2 working parents.We've been combing every night,every other night with all 3 kids,2 adults and 2 nit combs, has made f* all difference.

Kids need to be sent home immediately and treated with something that kills them instantly.They can return the same day.This is what used to happen.It works.When I was at school in the 70s I never had it,my sister had it once.

Kids do notice(you can see it very easily).As I said previously my dd is getting so upset she said she wouldn't play with her friend who always has it as she's fed up with nightly combing. Because she likes her so much she and this girl spent a playtime trying to pick them out.Very and very degrading.

Kids are being let down and the Nitty Gritty comb is partly responsible.It's not a miracle cure(maybe in a few cases of kids with the right texture hair and length),it simply keeps the volume down.People need to realise working parents simply don't have the hours to comb nightly.If you do it thoroughly it takes ages.If you don't do it thoroughly it's pointless.I blame nobody that doesn't do it throughly because it's a total utter pain in the arse and often simply doesn't bloody work!!!!!!!!!!!!

I blame anyone who doesn't do it - it's basic hygiene! It's a pain in the arse but so are a lot of things.

Every child in the house, every other night minimum along with picking kids up from childcare,tea,homework,clubs and getting kids into bed at a decent time-really,you blame parents who don't do it thoroughly enough because I certainly don't.

Particularly when most parents know they'll probably have missed one or be re-infested by the end of the week.

I would blame someone who doesn't treat their child for lice, yes. There are two options, comb properly or use chemicals. If their isn't time for combing then use chemicals. It os simply not fair to keep spreading them round. On the occasions my child has had them I have kept him home from clubs so I have time.

The fact of the matter is the current system isn't working so what are they going to do about it?Schools are infested,they never used to be.

I'd be interested to know how other countries handle it.

It's the attitude of 'Oh I won't bother because by the end of the week they will be re infested again' which means kids are permanently crawling.

Have you read the thread. There's plenty about how other countries handle it.

But the problem is the re-infestation.You can't keep putting chemicals on and it just goes round and round if some comb ineffectively without realising(most often the case I suspect).

If they sent kids home to be treated with chemicals the instances of reinfestation would go down like they used to be so using chemicals wouldn't be a problem ie it would be once in a blue moon.

I have read the thread but missed other countries,so how do they do it,what are their infestation rates like?

They send them home and they aren't allowed back into school unless they are clear and have been checked.

I wonder why that doesn't happen here then.

What, all countries? Not just the ones with a high level of SAHPs?

Sending kids home is a bonkers idea. Just check and comb your own children- stop thinking about other kids. Treat it like reading levels!

People just combing their own is pointless as they immediately get reinfested I have 3 kids and we physically can't keep doing it night after night.It takes hours.We've not had a week off since Sep,I don't work.It's starting to impact on doing homework.How the hell parents manage it after picking kids up from childcare I don't know.

When I was teaching in the 90s we sent kids home and we never had it-it works.

Other kids reading levels doesn't impact on my kids,other peoples nits do.

No the countries that have been mentioned on this thread were the US and Germany where there seems to be zero tolerance.

I think if kids were sent home then fewer kids would be sent in with nits because parents would be forced to either comb effectively or treat with chemicals. Sounds like a fab idea to me!

I think if all my kids had nits and it was impacting family life that much I would've reached for a bottle of Derbac by now tbh.

Me too Valium,far better for all parents.

Said child could be back in school the same day.Reinfestation would be far less likely to happen so you'd be far less likely to actually have a child with nits.

Believe me I am currently doing the research however one of my dc has sensitive skin.I'm so desperate I'm considering treating the other 2 with chemicals so we can just comb the one with sensitive skin.Not sure how effective that would be though.We have Hedrined but it costs £££££££ and then you nearly break your neck in the shower due to the grease.

Children shouldn't be denied their education because some parents aren't delousing their children.

My DD3 had lice during half term - she's in Reception. We deloused and denitted all half term and she went back nit and lice-free on Monday. If school found a headlouse on her on Tuesday and told me she couldn't come back until she was clear I'd tell them to do one (in much more polite terms!).

Why should my child miss school and I have to take time off work because someone's parent couldn't delouse their child? I'll do mine, you do yours, job done.

MrsHeffley I use Nice N'Clear, it's not chemically and my asthmatic, sensitive skinned DD3 gets on fine with it. I find it really effective.

DS1's school still has a nit nurse. When I first saw "bug busting" on the school calendar I thought that it was some wildlife activity for the children . But no, each class are checked thoroughly and given a white letter. And we have the sort of secretary who would relish being able to phone and say "Lady Muck, I regret to inform you that you have to remove the infested Honorable Master Muck from this establishment forthwith".

It may be pure co-incidence, but Ds1 has got through to Year 6 without a single nit.

It's not as simple as that Sidge(how do you know you've got them all out) and if all parents were called in immediately your child wouldn't get it in the 1st place.Also you could treat your child with chemicals and be back the same day.

I'd be more than happy to get a call if it helped the problem and got nit infestation down to what it used to be in the 70s and 90s.

Sidge so that stuff is it greasy?

I just can't afford Hedrin for all 3 and then the continual rinsing to get the grease out......I once spent £30 on Hedrin,got all 3 clear.DD came back the first day of term with a giant nit(clearly a new house guest as the 2nd bout of Hedrin we did were just tiny hatchlings).I was not happy.

I know waaaaay too much about nits!

I know I got them all because we did it daily, and luckily she has very fine blonde hair so they're easy to see!

I firmly believe that children shouldn't be kept off school for headlice, they're a social problem more than a health problem (very very few children become unwell through headlice and they tend to be very infested, or allergic to the louse saliva and so get head rash and sores).

Unfortunately you can't guarantee that other parents delouse your child so you just have to concentrate on your own.

PS The Nice N'Clear is greasy to apply but dries non greasy, so I apply it at night, then brush and plait the next morning, then wash it out that night.