Re head lice in school

[nocabbageinmyeye]

The same family in our school constantly have license it seems, their parents do not treat them, it's on going and has been for years now. Yesterday the teacher shuffled the kids places and dd is beside the boy. She said he spent all day yesterday scratching his head and again today so she asked him if he was ok, he told her he had them, she asked if his mam and dad knew he said yes, she asked if they put the stuff in to kill them and he said no his mam said everyone gets them (yeah thanks to ye!).

So I am going to the school tomorrow to casually meet the teacher and tell her I want dd moved (discreetly, not in front of anyone obviously). Aibu to say I think the school are failing the other kids, they have a duty of care to all kids and to let the same infested kids into school constantly is unfair. Lice are lice, people get them, these things happen, i have no issue with that, i do however have an issue with lazy bastards who refuse to treat their kids.

What do your schools do? Dd2's creche have a sign up saying kids with lice have to be kept at home until they are treated and gone, surely school should be the same? I appreciate a kid can get them and a parent might not realise but to blatantly ignore is so rude/inconsiderate/filthy

Schools do not authorise absence for head lice generally, because as most treatments take place over 1 - 2 weeks (not just once, however much the adverts suggest). It's a lot of time to be off.

I really don't think the school have the power to exclude for untreated lice. But they might be able to have a strong word about neglect, so it's worth talking to them - gently, and avoiding the phrase "lazy bastards" because if you phrase it too aggressively or vindictively you'll get the school's hackles up.

In the meantime, tight plaits, Vosene shampoo and teatree anti-nit spray for your DD.

I would add hairspray too is effective for keeping them out

It's not a lot of time off at all.

Nitty gritty with conditioner done properly will get all of the lice and most of the eggs. If this is done daily for a few days then becomes a weekly routine then problem solved!

I'm not sure how our school would deal with this. Ds2 had a child in his class who seemed to repeatedly have lice but she moved schools.

In my eyes this is a form of abuse so I wonder if school could contact SS if initial requests to parents to treat their children failed.

Hahaha lazy bastards was just for mn AnyoneButAndre I'll be on my best behaviour for teacher I wouldn't agree with keeping kids who are not repeat offenders or who are being treated out but the same ones over and over who never treat bug me!! I feel for the kids, the other kids aren't thick and the older they get the more aware they are, i warned dd it's not the child's fault so not to say anything to him or anyone else but they are nine now that won't last forever either

DD has lovely blonde hair that is very long. It takes hours to go through her hair. I hate lazy parents who don't check hair.

DD hates the hairdressers but I reassure her that only a tiny amount will be cut. There is no way I could break her heart and have it cut short.

The official government advice is not to exclude for headlice- and only to treat if live lice are seen. So the school are not failing the other children by not sending this child home. And if he is there, they can hardly make him sit on his own all the time.

RustyBear do you think its fair on other kids to have to sit next to him? Even the constant stratching would be annoying. I disagree with you there anyway, it's totally unfair on the other kids to have to sit beside that constantly

Maybe that's why the teacher is shuffling the kids then, so no-one sits next to him all term.

Given that the school cannot exclude a child without a valid reason, and the government advice is not to exclude for headlice, what exactly do you want the school to do?

Ds1 used to have lice almost permanently through primary. I used to comb through every day to be on the safe side. Ds2 had them once and Dd has only had them a couple of times. Her hair is always tied up though as a precaution and I am quite happy to grab the chemicals.

My ndn children (much older) were known for racing their lice across the desk.

Since both ds2 have been at secondary we have had no problems.

Some people just get them. I spent all of primary being 'that child' - my mum treated me weekly. My DC are now the same. I fine tooth comb us all weekly, tea tree oil shampoo, occasionally do the electric comb and treat with chemicals once or twice a month and still the little fuckers survive (the lice, not the DC!). I blame myself as I have long thick very fine hair. (don't make me cut it, I'm a minger without my hair to hide behind)

Just raise with the school they need to enforce head lice monitoring. Ours sent a nitty gritty comb home with a letter.

This makes me miss the nit nurse. I remember being in primary school and having our hair checked. No shame to it though as everyone was checked in a room by themselves and everyone got a sealed letter home

While I see your point and I do sympathise you do realise that this poor child is suffering from neglect? You are saying that you think a child who is being, at the best, neglected should be forced to sit on their own.

I do understand that this is not your fault and you don't want your child to get nits. I understand that the parents are being irresponsible and it is utterly frustrating when you are the parent constantly going through the faff and expense of treating your child's hair.

I do realise it's neglect Pipbin and I totally feel sorry for the child I really do. What do I suggest Rustybear, I really don't know, I would hate for a child to be excluded in class but I also think it's unfair for other kids to have to sit with them, what's the solution? No idea I actually thought making them stay off school would be better as the rest of the class would be unaware then so exclusion in a sense but discrete in that the child might just be ill. I don't suppose I realised until this that they can be that hard to get rid of.

I'll go in tomorrow and get dd moved anyway, it's up to other parents to do the same when their child is beside him if they see fit to do so. The constant scratching is driving dd nuts in itself, like sitting beside a constant snuffler or something like that, even beside the lice itself

Do not even get me started on nits. The bloody things drive me insane.
The only time we are completely and totally clear lately is in the holidays, as there's no-one to infect. We spent all summer holidays completely free of the little sods (I still check weekly even in the holidays) and there wasn't even so much as a speck or egg.
LITERALLY and I'm not even joking here, the first day back on inspecting hair before bed, there was one solitary huge feck off size nit crawling about and NOTHING else. So must have come from someone at school.
FGS, drives me mad. Check your child's hair EVERY week, or even more. Parents can keep their child's hair completely nit free, but it simply isn't always possible if there's slack arses out there who just can't be bothered to check!
Grrrrr.