Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Nits AGAIN! Ask school to pin point the children and speak directly to their parents

66 replies

pingu2209 · 26/04/2012 22:50

I have spent ages gettng rid of the nits my children came home from school with. Okay this is just the way it goes - children get nits. But it keeps happening.

We are now on our fourth bout! Each time I do 1 night of hedrin and combing and then another 7 days later. This gets rid of the nits in our house.

The cost of hedrin is huge!

Should I ask the teacher to speak to the parents of children they know have nits? It isn't fair as the class keeps getting them.

OP posts:
Olympia2012 · 26/04/2012 22:53

Don't buy Hedrin!!

It's going to be around all through childhood, get used to it and start the wet combing. Teacher won't be able to speak to anyone!

GrandmasRedCar · 26/04/2012 22:53

Do you know it's a repeat offender? It there a child who's parents have a reputation to not bother treating nits?

Original poster
pingu2209 · 26/04/2012 22:58

No I don't know if it is a repeat offender. This isn't something I have spoken to other parents about - can't believe I am on course of action no. 4!

Why not Hedrin? Do you mean try another make or do you mean they don't work?

I don't wash my children's hair that often. Friday nights after swimming but that is by the pool side so would feel really odd getting out a nit comb. Then once during the rest of the week.

Both my sons' hair were crawling in lice - I only did them a few weeks ago. My daughter (strange as she has longer hair) wasn't as bad as the boys.

OP posts:
Olympia2012 · 26/04/2012 23:02

If they were 'crawling' then you are doing something wrong

You will have to make time for the conditioner/ comb thing.... You are on case 4?? You have a long long way to go yet then!

Hedrin is expensive. And doesn't prevent head lice, it can only deal with the live hatched ones. You will have many more outbreaks to come over the years, better to get to grips with regular combing

TeaTeaLotsOfTea · 26/04/2012 23:02

Our school announced in the weekly newsletter that some teachers had actually seen the nits crawling around on certain childrens heads and asked all parents to please check their childrens hair.

I think the parents of said children should be told not to bring them till their headlice have gone.

scottishmummy · 26/04/2012 23:05

dont be ridiculous
a name and shame roll call
well and good til it's your wean

thedogsrolex · 26/04/2012 23:06

Lots of conditioner and a nit comb, once a week isn't going to do it. Lice treatments only work so well ime. Comb and comb until the little feckers are gone.

Olympia2012 · 26/04/2012 23:07

They would never be in school if they had to stay off for just head lice!!

What about threadworms?? Most kids have those... Just as bad. Can hardly go round checking!

scottishmummy · 26/04/2012 23:08

lol off school when weans have nits
they'd never be there it's so prevzlent

WhirlyByrd · 26/04/2012 23:08

Wasn't there someone recently who sent their child to school in a baseball cap? When told by head she was breaking the rules, thenum said DD wouldn't be taking te cap off until the nits were dealt with. Other parents followed suit and the problem was tackled within the week Grin

MissLofPubia · 26/04/2012 23:09

I have the same problem! I'm still not rid of them bastards that they are but I do feel I have a bit of control since getting the Nitty Gritty comb. I've just had to accept my daughter is prone to them, and restrain myself from randomly searching her classmates hair Angry

Pinkflipflop · 26/04/2012 23:09

Well I am a teacher and after spending the guts of a year watching the same child continually spread nits around the rest of my class, I spoke to the parent directly. I said, "look your dd has nits again-have you noticed?" mums reply was " oh ffs not again!". Apparently she hadn't noticed! We are not supposed to do this, not pc anymore but I don't know who in their right mind would want their child to have nits!! I don't care, I think parents who know their children are regularly picking up nits and who don't check or treat them are a disgrace!

thedogsrolex · 26/04/2012 23:15

They aren't allowed to name the "culprit" but I remember when dd was in year one, they played "hairdressing" with the teacher...

5318008 · 26/04/2012 23:16

lots of info here and a brilliant combing programme

If your child had mature lice crawling then they weren't previously eliminated I'm afraid

fedupofnamechanging · 26/04/2012 23:21

When my boys were little, there was one child who was permanently crawling with lice and the parents did nothing. I was a CM at the time and it was doing my business no good at all having to tell the parents of kids in my care to, yet again check their babies for nits because it was going around my son's class!

I was sooo close to tackling that parent in the playground - I wish I had.

FlameProofNightie · 26/04/2012 23:22

It sounds to me like you are not getting to grips with the problem yourself i'm afraid and this is just a cycle that you're not managing to break...if you leave a week between a re check, then any eggs you missed will indeed have hatched and so on and so forth.

No need for any lotions. just cheap conditioner, a nit comb and comb through every third day for a few weeks. Add a few drops of tea tree oil. This will sort it

Olympia2012 · 26/04/2012 23:23

Maybe it's your children that are infecting everyone else op?

tazzle · 26/04/2012 23:24

Sadly this is a perpetual issue down through the generations ( I remember saying much the same 30 years ago)..... and always will unless a miracle occurs and every single person got treated several times over two weeks to eliminate all live ones !! However such is the tenacity of insects that a few would be missed and it would start all over again. Grin

I found the cheapest stuff to apply effectively was tea tree oil .. not as smelly as they stuff from the chemists we hsd to use.

when I was at school we had the "nit nurse" Wink ...... even she did not get them all !

fedupofnamechanging · 26/04/2012 23:25

I'm itching now!

FlameProofNightie · 26/04/2012 23:27

Agree with olympia, have to say

Moominsarescary · 26/04/2012 23:28

If your children were crawling with them, they're probably just as guilty of infecting others. Check their hair more often if you know it's a problem

GnomeDePlume · 26/04/2012 23:35

keep combing, keep combing, keep combing

Look on the bright side, it's a sign that your DC has friends at school.

We have found FullMarks to be effective

Also comb through with a tea tree conditioner (Tesco do a cheap one). Apparently tea tree puts them off.

Keep short hair short and long hair tied back.

Jinsei · 26/04/2012 23:39

How come you haven't talked to other parents about the problem, OP? Don't people tell the parents of their kids' friends when they find nits in their own kids' hair? Confused

I always let other parents know, as I figure they will need to check their children too. Otherwise I will spend ages combing them out of dd's hair only for her friends to pass them right back again!

thedogsrolex · 26/04/2012 23:43

Have to agree with olympia too (sorry, cringe). I know it isn't intentional on your part op but they really need to be combed more than once a week, nits are resiliant little fuckers! They are on my shit list with fleas...how can something so tiny be so 'ard? Grin

thedogsrolex · 26/04/2012 23:47

and maybe one day i'll learn to spell too!