To think schools should take nits more seriously?

[Eurydice84]

Since January I have had to treat DD (and the rest of the family) for head lice several times. We follow all the recommended steps, wash bedding and clothing, and repeat the treatment after one week. The buggers seem to go away but then they're back again. It's likely that they're going around the school, and it only takes one kid to pass them on to the others. I am at my wits' end, it's impossible to coordinate 50 parents to treat at the same time, and the school doesn't allow absences for head lice. They don't seem to care at all, honestly. I have spent so much time and money trying to get rid of the problem, but there is no point if the school doesn't make it a priority as well. I also think head lice treatment should be subsidised, it's terribly expensive (£10 a bottle, and we need at least two for each treatment). AIBU?

My three children always had nits at primary school but never threadworms. As pp have said - expensive and time consuming to treat and comb. My children used to fall asleep whilst I combed through their hair and I checked scrupulously for years.

We laugh about it now but at the time I was so frustrated each time it happened because they were always reinfected.

My grandchildren have never had nits, but they've all had threadworms a few times. A play leader at hospital (granddaughter was hospitalised with kidney infection) said that they most likely come from playdough and that's why they don't have it in hospital play areas.

It is supposed to be fresh/unused stuff every day. But eggs under children's fingernails when they've just had a good scratch will still transfer eggs whether the dough is old or new. And it won't be just the dough that carries the eggs.

I tell my children that I'd rather have nits than threadworms.

Unfortunately, it's up to parents to inspect their children - not a teacher's responsibility. As an ex primary school teacher myself, I remember opening a book at home to mark it and found a louse walking across it. I 'inspected' that child the following day and her head was 'alive' - you see them from quite far away. The weekly newsletter always contained reminders to look out for infestations.

It's hardly surprising that some parents don't keep on top of these things - they can't be bothered and think it's not their responsibility - it's the school's.

That's not a decision individual state schools can take though, they have to follow the rules set out by the DfE, which includes not excluding for things like this.

The DfE, at the moment, consider school attendance a priority, so they're unlikely to change policy in this way, and until that point, there's not much individual schools can do.

One only had to read many posts on here to know how lazy many parents are, sightings go wrong Go and see the Head etc. Give your child the opportunity to be abused then pass the buck to the school. Let schools deal with teaching, we'll see vast improvements all round but it will mean parents extracting the digit more.

The days of Nitty Nora the Head Explorer are long since gone.

Schools can barely afford the basics now, they can't be expected to take responsibility for this on top of everything else. It is wrong to suggest that they aren't taking it seriously, and simply the case that schools can't afford to be responsible for everything.

As for making kids stay off school until the issue is fixed...firstly, who is going to check the kids every day to ensure that they are "clear", and secondly, do you think it's reasonable that children with feckless parents who don't do anything about the nits should also miss out on an education as well?

It's a massive pain, I know. DD had very long, thick, curly hair and it was a tortuous process going through with the nitty gritty comb on a regular basis, but it's just what you have to do when you have young kids. Maybe persuade your dc to go for very short hairstyles if it's really bothering you.

And ensure that, as well as treating any known problems, do a regular "maintenance" comb so that the buggers don't move back in.

Seeing ' nitty Nora' in the school office seemed to be a weekly rigmarole in my day. I was lucky not to get any and I had long hair , but anyone who did was sent home.
Maybe if the schools did this the parents would actually invest in a nit comb / conditioner/ lotion but I suppose that isn't seen as the done thing these days and parents are not at home as much as they might have been in the 70s.
Ds1 had them and I spent ages getting them out and paying out for combs and lotions for everyone.
It's annoying other people don't care even if they are told about it.

I think everyone should do more.
They are a plague.

I thought the one good thing to come out of covid would be a world free of these bastards.

Ask your gp or school nurse to prescribe a treatment…,my DD has never paid

It's a terrible idea that children should stay home if they have nits. It's likely that the children whose parents don't treat them are parents who don't pay much attention to their DC's needs (for whatever reason). To force them to spend even more time in that environment and get behind with their education seems wrong.

I agree that lots of conditioner and regular, thorough nit combing are the best approach to clearing nits. A electric nit comb is also useful and very satisfying when it catches one of the little buggers . And keep combing long after you think you've got them all. You only need to miss one egg and in a few weeks the whole cycle begins again. And learn to very French braid to reduce the chances of re infection.

I'm very happy that I no longer have to deal with this problem days but I also miss the enforced intimacy of sitting with a small child sat in the floor in front of me whilst I combed and combed and combed. We watched a lot of Disney movies that way.

Nits were found in fossil stones once , it was discovered that cave men and women had them too , they will probably survive WW3 along with all the cockroaches
Nasty evil things

I also think head lice treatment should be subsidised, it's terribly expensive (£10 a bottle, and we need at least two for each treatment). AIBU?

No treatment shouldn't be subsidised as there is absolutely no need to use it in the first place. The most effective treatment for head lice is wet coming with conditioner. It's time consuming and a pain but far more effective then treatments which headline become resistant to.

Schools shouldn't have to police it but maybe someone should run traning seasons for parents on how to treat it effectively.

My county has THREE school nurses, for the whole county, to cover everything. Training for diabetic children takes priority but even that is now usually via video training. I can't imagine how many nurses would be needed for nits! Parents need to take responsibility , conditioner and comb every night!

I’ve lived in three other EU countries where this isn’t true and they have the exact same nit problems as the UK.

Perhaps it’s the whole “broken society” thing you’re actually railing at. Either focus on the root causes Or learn to live with it - this too will pass!!

Schools haven’t got time to regularly check children for head lice, forcing children to stay at home with head lice would also mean children who are already disadvantaged would be regularly missing school. I’m a teacher and the children I’ve taught with persistent headlice have almost been the ones coming from dysfunctional families and known to social services etc.

As for subsidised treatments, you really don’t need to buy the expensive treatments, headlice can be effectively eradicated just by a thorough and daily combing with a nit comb.

I don’t think nits or cockroaches are evil.

Anything with that kind of ability to survive has to be admired from an evolutionary perspective.

It’s humans who are a cancer on Earth, not nits or cockroaches.

If you've only treated your kid for nits 'several times' since January, it's not enough. It needs doing at the very least weekly. Nitty gritty comb, conditioner. Keep your kids hair short or tied back. Parents should be told this in antenatal classes.

I assume you're washing bedding and clothing anyway right? That said, nits live on human scalps, not soft furnishings.

I notice some cultures keep their kids' hair (boys & girls) grade 1 or 2 through the primary years to avoid nits.

At the end of the day, having nits doesn't really affect kids anyway - the little fuckers never seem to be bothered IMO.

You could at one point get the stuff for free as part of the common prescription scheme but this may have ended. Nitty gritty is best. As is short hair and for me, daily use of hair straighteners meant I never got them. My daughter with fine hair was easy to treat. It was my daughter with thick hair who had to have several combings.

Yes.

Hedrin Once is the only treatment. (Every 7 days)
Keep all brushes in freezer.
Use Nitty Gritty comb and conditioner and comb comb comb every 2 days until all gone.
No need to wash clothes etc.
Just keep combing.

Best way is combing through weekly with cheap conditioner and nitty gritty comb. Catch them early before it’s a proper infestation. You can get Hedrin ( nit treatment) and nitty gritty comb free on minor ailments at the chemists. Am in Scotland though perhaps different elsewhere.

Years ago, there was a big recurring outbreak in DS1's preschool class. The teachers actually did do checks - their own kids attended and we're catching them too!

It was so bad, a lot of boys who'd previously had longer hair had it buzzed right down - along with one of the girls!

They should send children with lice home and insist parents treat within 24 hours so the child can return. The lice may not be gone, but they need to show signs of trying. (I long for the days when children had to be nit free to return but understand that change)

i know, there are all sorts of parents who just won’t treat their children, but not treating your child for lice is neglect. It should be reported appropriately.

I'm agree with you .

I’ve worked in schools and some kids are literally dripping with lice and you can see their heads moving.

Parents won’t take responsibility so that leaves parents like yourself in a continuous cycle.

It was unfortunately that not my DDs were in classes with two neglected sisters.

Tea tree oil in shampoo and conditioner and a few drops in their hair between washes keeps them out.

In loco parentis has taken on a whole new meaning.

I have called many parents about headline in my long career as a teacher. Some parents are mortified, some are furious, some don't give a shit and some blame everyone else. The worst case I have seen was a girl who has them crawling in her eyebrows but her mum didn't want to pay out for treatment.

Can you imagine the furore if a kid was sent home with nits from some of the parents on here ...

As long as you don’t complain that you’re paying more tax or another public service has been cut just so schools can have dedicated nit nurses and you can have subsidised treatment.

What a waste of NHS money given that treatment is not necessary.