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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to ask the school to send out headlice letters within the first week of school

51 replies

misdee · 07/09/2008 19:16

last week, ihappily sent the dd's to school nit free. i have been de-lousing them over the holidays with the nitty gritty comb, and on their last check two nights before school they were totally nit/lice free. no eggs, no lice. fab ithought, job done.

just done routine sunday night comb through with nitty gritty and have removed adult lice and eggs on both school aged dd's.

i am as i just feel luike we are fighting a losing battle.

OP posts:
misi · 07/09/2008 19:27

schools are not allowed to have nit nurses anymore and are loathe to tell people about head lice infections in case it infringes the rights of the infected children under article whatever of the human rights act.
In a school I was a governor at until recently, the policy in line with guidelines was to only send out generalised letters about infections 2 weeks after initial infections were identified. schools cannot demand children are kept at home till all clear and cannot demand that children are actually treated so I believe from the head teacher. not actually read the rule book on this but I hope this is wrong and it was only the head teacher being her usual self.

but yes, under the rules I do know, it is a loosing battle, because the right of the infected kid is regarded higher than all of those it could infect. bring back the nit nurses I say!!

cheeset · 07/09/2008 19:36

IKWYM......

DanJARMouse · 07/09/2008 19:38

for you.

Have checked DD1 and DD2 over the weekend, and so far, so good - praying it stays that way for a few weeks at least!

DD1 did only just start school on Thursday though, and the majority of her class are the eldest children so fingers crossed!!!

Original poster
misdee · 07/09/2008 19:39

am just fed up of it.

i know they have caught them in the last week, as all adults and eggs only. no little ones which have hatched recently.

OP posts:
Tommy · 07/09/2008 19:42

at our school, we get a letter as soon as a teacher notices some nits or a parent lets them know - I told DS1's teacer that he had them in the morning and the whole year group had a letter in the afternoon.

nooka · 07/09/2008 19:45

Having a trained nurse whose job it was to check heads for nits was a complete waste of resources, and an unpleasant experience for many children (remember it is not the child's fault). Nit letters are also not very useful as by the time someone has noticed that a child has lice it is highly likely that they have already passed them on if they are going to do so.

Lice are unpleasant and a nuisance to treat, but they are not a major health hazard.

nooka · 07/09/2008 19:46

Bad luck though misdee. We've only had one nit outbreak so far (children are 8 and 9) and it was hell to clear them out of our hair (mine included).

singyswife · 07/09/2008 19:47

I got a phone call from my sil the otehr day to say that her sons friend had nits and when she checked her son he also had nits.(she found one runner and 6 eggs)/ I should add that not only do they go to school together but they spent friday pm together too. My dds were there on Thursday and we found out on Sat morning that he had them. I have checked my girls hair both wet and dry 4 times now since yesterday morning, are they clear????

misi · 07/09/2008 19:53

our nit nurse was great, we got an afternoon off lessons each month and she was really nice and gentle. they may not be a major health hazard but they can cause nasty reactions in some people and can spread other problems too and can cause widespread itchiness which is very unpleasant for kids. it is the cost though that many people don't like. those who can't be bothered pay nothing but the kids continue to 'infect' other kids whose parents spend much money getting rid of the nits only to be infected on return to school. it is not fair and not right ethically for this to be allowed to go on, the rights of the many do outweigh the rights of the one or few in this case. no its not the kids fault, its the parents fault and they should be held accountable for spreading communicable infections

Twelvelegs · 07/09/2008 19:59

My children are combed with a Nitty every Sunday, the cycle can be a long one and so an undetection could still be a LIE and your child may still have them undeteted for another two weeks. Curse the lice.

nooka · 07/09/2008 20:19

Sorry. I think that was an utter waste of an afternoon, and infestations could happen quite easily in between.

ethanchristopher · 07/09/2008 21:48

when i did work experience at a nursery i was reading a kid a story and i noticed her hair was crawling with nits, absolutely choc-a-block

i told one of the managers and she said, there's nothing we can do, we cant tell the parents outright because we cant be seen to be bullying them by appearing to target them as the child who would have headlice.

i was like - so whats the alternative, have living things on your scalp??? gross.

nkf · 07/09/2008 21:50

They're not an infection though are they?
I've often thought that something that might help is a school rule on hair being tied back. But I expect that would annoy parents as well.

Janni · 07/09/2008 21:53

It is ridiculous to think that you cannot raise a health issue about a child in your care, with their parent. That is a total lack of common sense. Head lice make children, quite literally, feel 'lousy' and if you know a child has them I think you are duty bound to inform the parents.

wannaBe · 07/09/2008 22:03

for you.

We've had letters home twice about headlice and once about worms .

Fortunately my ds hasn't been affected, but my friend's dd had nits and she promptly sent out a text to everyone saying that "x has nits and obviously she must have got them from somewhere!" which apparently upset a few people as the implication was that one of their children had invected her dd .

As matter of interest, where exactly do headlice come from? does anyone know? After all, the child who becomes infected first must get them from somewhere?

dilemma456 · 07/09/2008 22:11

Message withdrawn

pacinofan · 07/09/2008 22:17

Bring back the nit nurse, and for goodness sake identify the affected child/children and inform the parent/s. I for one would not be offended, just grateful, to be told my dd had nits, at least I could then treat as soon as possible! The rules that prevent this happening are utter madness.

Anyone else appalled at the cost of nit lotions? I am staggered to see the prices of these! We are using De Valle's nit repellant and so far, so good, 'tis moderately priced and so far doing a good job (though saying that is tempting fate I'm sure)!

Bring back a nit nurse, and while I'm on a rant, bring back milk in schools too!

platypussy · 07/09/2008 22:23

Surely a nursery has to inform a parent that their child has headlice. If not then that child will continue to infect other children in the nursery for evermore.

ScottishMummy · 07/09/2008 22:28

why should a child with nits be identified?so the indignant parents can berate a child.

maybe make the affected child wear a scarlet letter N for nits

ring a warning bell when they attend shool

grind whatever self esteem they have into the ground

shout unclean

ostracise from other children

no child asks for nits,very prevalent.spreads easily

i understand frustration,annoyance don't understand wanting to know which identifiable child

platypussy · 07/09/2008 22:33

Surely parents/carers could be told discreetly?

seeker · 07/09/2008 22:34

It is complete rubbish for schools to say that they can't tell parents if their child has nits. If anybody tells you this challenge them to produce chapter and verse. There is no problem at all with a teacher discreetly telling a parent.

However, I do think people get a bit ariated about nits. They are horrible, but they aren't life or health threatening. And if you condition and comb your child's hair twice a week you should keep on top of them.

bloomingfedup · 07/09/2008 23:02

I had this problem when my DD started school. She was repeatdly getting nits. I went into school and the teacher said that her hand were tied, they are not allowed to send kids home with headlice!

I find tea tree spray good.

seeker · 07/09/2008 23:06

They aren't sllowed to send children home - but it wouldn't do any good if they did. A child has had live for an average of 3 months before they start scratching noticeably. But schools are allowed to talk to parents about it. It's wrong to say they aren't.

ravenAK · 07/09/2008 23:09

I was involved in a conversation last week with a year 8 girl, who was refusing to take part in my lesson. In the course of the conversation (she had head down, refusing to make eye contact, throughout - poor kid has LOTS of problems in school) - I noticed that her scalp was crawling.

I passed the information on, & apparently it's no longer acceptable to send a letter home re: nits, but discreet phone call is OK.

Personally, I'd be happy to be phoned to say 'Your dc has nits, can you treat them?'. It's an occupational hazard of lots of children gathered together, no big deal.

TheRealMrsOsborne · 07/09/2008 23:11

nooka thank the lord someone else who agrees about the nit nurse!

I think that YANBU all parents would probably benefit from a gentle reminder to regulary check their child's head and some information about how to do it properly and effectively. The problem is the parents who can't be arsed checking or treating their kids