To think this child should have been kept off school (nits)?!!!

[WiseFinch]

I am a teaching assistant and have been working with early years this week. Child informs me that they had “fleas in their hair” and had to have special shampoo last night.,
My first reaction was to keep a wide berth but this is absolutely impossible with a 4 year old.

Through the course of the day, it is very clear that this child still has a raging case of nits and is itching their head - and also hanging off me every five minutes for a cuddle… This was two days ago and now my head is itching. I did not have close contact for very long and it wasn’t head to head, plus my hair was up, but I’m now absolutely paranoid I’ve got nits - and I’m sure they’ll be going around the whole class as we speak.

I am new-ish to this job and don’t have kids myself, but surely you should keep your child off until all of the nits are gone? It’s not a case of neglect here, family are well to do and are quite nice people! So I am fully prepared to be told IABU. What does everyone think???

No you treat the child. My kids are older now, my son had them once in primary school. He was treated. Combed through every night for a couple of weeks. No one else in the family got them.

A good nit come and conditioner.
Just check your hair a couple of times a week whilst in the bath or shower. Conditioner makes your hair smoother to comb through.
Yes it’s part of having g kids. We all got them including the kids GM.
DD was great at checking her long hair. I’d hear her tapping the comb on the side of the bath 😁

It's just part of living with or working with kids. I'm amazed my daughter only ever had them once in nursery and never in primary school (so far). Just be vigilant, tie your hair back at work, and use a lice comb regularly to check your own hair.

Yes absolutely, my DM did nit comb once a week I think? I remember her combing regularly so I never got them! That’s what I mean - I thought if you had them you had to stay off! But I loved school so in hindsight my DM probably told a white lie so I’d let her comb my hair!! (I was a nightmare!)

Well thanks everyone, my head is now itching like an absolute bastard 😁

Also absolutely LOL at posters telling me to get a different job, I’m starting teacher training at the end of the year so think I’m in too deep 😂😂😂 I’ve only ever worked with pre school age and as I said in PP probably been lucky never to encounter them - or worms! But have had every other thing going, I’m not squeamish about kids having nits but certainly would be if I got them, and pretty sure my DP wouldn’t be impressed 😂

Yabu. If parents phoned in to say their child was missing days of school as they had to make absolutely sure ALL the nits were gone, I think they'd get a letter home about attendance tbh 😂

Just wear your hair up tight as suggested (or cut it shorter). I've been a primary school TA before and only ever caught nits from my own dd if that makes you feel any better.

Why would school need to close for a fortnight for head lice?

What’s stopping parents from using a nit comb in the morning before school?

Agreed. You need to get used to it if you stay in that job. You'll probably get parents blaming you for the existence of the head lice too (nits are the unhatched eggs).

Hair spray seems to help repel them. They don't jump on to you btw they walk from head to head and it's a reaction to the bites that causes itching not their trampling feet.

It was a chemical shampoo, unfortunately I don’t recall the name (DD is 15 now so this is almost 10 years ago) and one I found for sale in a hairdresser’s rather than the chemist where I’d purchased all the other treatments. We’re in NZ though so not sure what is available in which countries.

Well the only reason half the class always have nits is because the same parents continuously don't treat their kids and send them in.

It was anything but neglect. You have no idea about the time and money that was spent.

At that time she went to school with a family of three children, they all had it so badly that you could actually see the lice running around on top of their heads (my DD’s were never that bad, there were only enough to be hidden down the bottom) but when you’ve got to mix with children like that, no matter how you treat your own child you’re probably not going to get rid of them.

Nits don't like tea tree. I bought a small spray bottle and put a few drops of tea tree essential oil and water in it. I kept it by the front door and mine had their heads misted before they went to school. That helped keep them away.

I don’t really want to get technical but the combs only kill live lice, and some eggs (nits) will hatch into baby lice during the day.

I am a leading expert on headlice through research and lived experience. This is my final word on this matter.

In our pre school they ask that children are kept at home until nits have been treated and child is clear. I personally think this is great, it's common courtesy. I for sure wouldn't send my DD in with nits, just to be safe we do a monthly leave in nit treatment, shampoo each time with vosene avs she goes in with hair up and repellent spray. Surely if everyone did regular treatments it would save a lot of hassle as it would be a preventative

And ringworm…….

Joys of teaching!

I haven't noticed threadworms in quite some time, whether there are a few of them floating around, I don't care to know.

I’d be disgusted too OP

Same, I am not from UK, kids absolutely stay home with nits and we don’t have them constantly circulating! I only know one person who had them one time as DC and only have one friend who has had their own kids get them.

Scabies anyone

Yabu. You can't keep a child off for nits.

NRTFT, but cover your scalp and hair either in oil (anything will do) or conditioner. If you have tea tree oil use a few drops of that too. Massage it in and leave it in for a few hours. This will suffocate the fuckers.

You'll need to repeat this a few times every few days.

I caught a bad dose of nits from a wee girl who took a shine to me and was sat on my knee. I hadn't realised the abundance of white dots in her hair were nits/eggs. I only got really itchy a couple of weeks later so mine had escalated before I'd even realised I had them!

Don't worry though, I managed to get totally rid of them in 7 days.

Get a nit comb too to regularly use.

Nits can only crawl they can't leap. If you have had no head to head contact, you won't have caught them from her. If you do have nirs maybe you were the one who infected her

Emails aren’t a remedy for nits!

It’s not a case of neglect here, family are well to do and are quite nice people!

I hope you have better safeguarding training soon. I’m absolutely not saying this child is neglected but don’t make assumptions that because a family seems well to do and nice that the child couldn’t be neglected. It isn’t just “poor” people that neglect their children. Stereotypes like this can potentially be dangerous.