Is it inevitable to get used to head lice in the UK?

[OlyaR]

Hi there, I've got a daughter who is 10 months old, and recently one of NCT mums whose baby is already attending the nursery dropped a message in our chat that they are going to buy some shampoo that can delouse her son because he picked up head lice in the nursery. At first, I thought it was a joke, I'm from overseas and where I grew up head lice are so rare because when it happens and the child is seen with head lice the nursery/ school will inform the parents and the child will be allowed to continue only after their hair is clean from it. No one tolerates head lice, so I'd say they nip it in the bud. I can't imagine that other parents would put up with the situation of someone in the class infecting the whole class because the parents are okay with it.

Why are people so relaxed about it here? I've got long thick hair, it's a nightmare to think that I need to have it myself or my child will have it. I accept that this can happen but I find it hard to understand why do people keep saying that it's only head lice, not a big deal. So pity, because I love UK, its people, and nature but I don't know if I can accept it. I realize that for someone it may be ridiculous what I'm writing but my husband and I still can't get over the shock that people treat head lice normally and even make jokes about it.

So my question is, is it possible to find a nursery/ school that will take the head lice problem seriously and not allow spreading it ? I know that nit nurses are in the past but I'm sure measures can be taken ( excluding ) + I truly hope that there are such parents who agree with me and also take it seriously.

Ive always just seen it as part of childhood. At some stage or other no doubt kids are going to get nits. My girls are almost 3 and have never had them yet (we use tea tree spray to try prevent this) but ultimately I'm guessing they'll get them at some point either at nursery or school. I have some treatments ready in the cupboard just in case so we are prepared when it does happen.

Where are you from where they are so so rare? 🤔

IME it's exactly the same in the UK as your experience in your home country- parents will be informed and have to treat the headlice.

Unfortunately headlice still exist everywhere (inc your home country). People make jokes because they like making jokes rather than because they don't care about headlice.

ime it was rampant at my daughters school y2-4. There is always one parent who is blasé about it and then you are stuck in a cycle. DD got to the point of having her hair up and being less huggy because she hates them so much

however we only had it once with ds

I grew up abroad and remember the nurse coming in. Invariably the girls would have it and the boys wouldn’t and we would spend the afternoon chasing them!!

Never had headlice growing up in the UK, neither did my brother or sister.

There was a huge outbreak when I worked at an American summer camp however, despite them doing not checks at the start of the week, and both my nieces have got headlice from their childcare setting in Denmark so it's not just a UK thing

Where do you send your child that they accept it?
I've always known the nurseries and schools to inform parents when there is an outbreak so it can be dealt with immediately.

Should add that normally the parent tells the school and the school send out a message so as not to stigmatise the child. But the kids all know!!

I don't really get your OP. We do treat it here in the UK too and try to nip it in the bud as quick as we can. I only remember having nits once, but I might be forgetting the younger years. What was more embarassing is, I turned up to have my haircut at a salon and it was the hairdresser that discovered them! We didn't have any clue I had them. I do remember seeing nits in someone's hair at school once.🫢

Unlike me, I don't consider it as a part of childhood, I've never had it myself, and neither did my husband, my sister, and all my friends that I know. For me it's disgusting tbh, having something that is crawling and biting your head truly makes me shocked. Why on earth should people tolerate that someone's kids bring head lice to school and spread it all over?

I thought the same when my son was in nursery.
However, when I was younger (in Germany), treatment was more painful, and children had to stay home from nursery for a week, to have 2 treatments, and
then get a doctors note that they’re treated and can return to school/nursery.
i think many parents just treated nits in silence, so they didn’t have to deal with these things.

How would you know that for sure that none of those people had headlice? I said in my post above that I remember having them once, but for all I know I might've had them multiple times, but if I did I don't remember. Most people won't remember having them!

Wouldn’t worry. Yes, it’s part of childhood, as are worms, picking noses, scabs, every vomitting bug going and calling you poo poo head but our two only ever had lice once and twice.

The problem is that they tend to spread before they are spotted. The nit nurse doesn’t help because it gives a false sense of security. Having someone check once a term isn’t enough - you need to be checking every time you wash/brush their hair and treat accordingly.

it is horrible and they do say that some people are more prone to them than others though I don’t know why!!

I never had them as a child, although my sister did once.

My DC had them once each.

Every time a letter was sent home saying they'd been found in the class, I combed everyone's hair daily for 2 weeks, but I never found anything except those 2 times.

I never had them as a child but my sister and several of my friends did.

My two DCs have reached their 20s without having them, although I know they were around at school because we were informed if someone had them so we could be extra careful checking.

I will say that my DS always had very short hair, and I and my DD had very long hair that was always tied back, and more often than not plaited, so I don't know if that makes a difference.

@OlyaR you're not going to find a childcare setting in the UK that will exclude a child with nits and only allow them back when they have been checked as "nit free" by staff.

My two children have never had nits, it's not inevitable and if they do get them it can easily be dealt with.

No, I have three boys, 17, 15 and 10 and we've never had a nits thing. Long may it continue.

It's not that people accept them, it's that they spread round the classroom before the parents of the first case even know they have them.

I had them three times until I was moved seats from one particular child who was never treated.

I have been very lucky with my children so far but I am always vigilant from the sheer stress we had when I was little. I think some people have more delicious heads / sweat glands than others perhaps, so some get it and some just never do.

I had them maybe once or twice in childhood that I remember. My DC have had them once last year. This year we've had the alert from both of their school classes and both of their childcare settings but they've been clear.

If parents are vigilant then it's an occasional nuisance but if there's someone in the class who isn't proactive about it it can be hard to break the cycle.

Ultimately they're a normal if not particular nice thing, and catching them isn't a sign of neglect or poor hygiene (not treating them is a different matter) so there's no point in stigmatising it.

I always had headlice as a child. As soon as my dad would treat it & get rid of it, I’d have it again within a few weeks.

I have 3 DC all boys, they have never had it. I check their hair regularly, my youngest has shoulder blade length hair & he’s been in nursery for 2 years & never had it. My older 2 although haven’t had hair as long as you youngest haven’t exactly had super short hair either. My friends daughter is 5 now I think & never had it & has been in nursery/school since as was about 12 months. I personally don’t hear about it from the school as much as I feel like I use to have it in primary school.

Because they aren’t actually harmful. Unpleasant yes.

The rules about attending or not attending school in the UK are strict - you can’t keep a child off school for something which is easily treated and not harmful. Plus, perhaps more importantly, it is the parents job to deal with it and if they don’t the child should not lose education for having a useless parent.

Schools will send out letters and may directly speak to parents if lice are seen but they can’t enforce any form of exclusion.

And yes, keeping children off school because of head lice would be very poorly received here. It would be viewed as keeping them off with minor sniffles - their education shouldn't suffer because of a normal childhood ailment.

Because education is seen as more important.

Lice are a fact of life and have been for centuries. Yes of course parents should treat them as soon as they find them but some parents don't and their children's education should not suffer as a consequence. Add to that the fact that today's headlice are mutant resistant superlice and the best thing to do is get used having to treat them often rather than taking your kid out of school every time and making a big hoohah about it. We live on a planet populated by other creatures; deal with it.

We've never had nits in our family. I always sent my DDs to school with their hair tied back tightly in a pony tail plait for that reason. Plus I threatened to cut their hair off if they brought nits home. 😅

My dm sent me to school with a nit defying scalp braid so tight it'd give a face lift a run for its money. Worked though.