s/o of should I pull them out...now LICE

[Meadowlark]

So now...there's lice in my daughter's classroom. All of you homeschoolers go ahead and feel really happy that you don't have to deal with this...this is a con that I never saw coming.

 

I've decided to definitely homeschool them next year (see my other post if you're confused) but how can I get through this year? I even considered pulling them out after spring break this year, but my husband wants them to finish the year..for closure and all that. But now, there's lice. And it's not just one person.

 

Do I have to send her back into that classroom? She has long hair and I know the precautions to take but I want to take zero, and I mean, zero chances with this. If lice gets into this house, I don't know how I would handle it with it going around potentially 5 other kids. But is that really a rational reason to bring her home abruptly....?

 

Have I really lost it that I just want her to come home? Is that completely unfair to do to her? Homeschooling her for the past 9 weeks would be no problem, and I have every single thing I would need. She's up for it, but she's only 6 and doesn't understand naturally. If nothing else, should I keep her home next week which would mean she'd be away from the classroom for 2 weeks? It'd be unexcused but I don't even care, she's only missed 1 day so it wouldn't be a big deal other than the school thinking I'm nuts. 

 

What would you do?

 

 

[OneStepAtATime]

:grouphug: 

 

If you want to bring her home then there is no reason you can't bring her home, unless this will cause a serious rift between you and your DH (in which case you might still bring her home but I would work really hard to get both of you on the same page).  

 

FWIW, though, head lice are not disease ridden.  They won't poison your child.  They are a drag to deal with and a lot of people get grossed out at the thought of them but they are not carrying some horrible disease, they don't carry poison, they are just annoying.  They can be gotten rid of with a bit of effort, no harm done.  This is not a life threatening situation.  It is just kind of frustrating.  Also, since the school knows, you can ask them what precautions they are taking to prevent this spreading and if you feel they are inadequate say so.

 

In other words, I would not panic over head lice.  Try not to let irrational fear rule your decision making ability.  I would work hard to think through this situation, all the pros and cons, and make a decision based on that.

[Tanaqui]

So now...there's lice in my daughter's classroom. All of you homeschoolers go ahead and feel really happy that you don't have to deal with this...this is a con that I never saw coming.

 

Hahahaha, yeah, right. We actually had a full year's worth of lice infestation in our family because the kids still have, you know, friends. And those friends were going through a family crisis, and we were going through a family crisis, and long story short, after all crises were ended I gathered up all the kids, theirs and mine, and dosed them all up.

 

Keep your child's hair in braids, comb it every night, and try not to worry about it.

[Bluegoat]

We had one year with a ton of lice, from a friend down the street.  I don't know if she had a class that was really infested that year, or if the parents weren't up to taking care of it, or what.  THat's when all my kids were homeschooled.

 

OTOH, the girl I do after school care for has also had a bad year for lice, and I know her parents deal with it, but my kids haven't picked it up.  I'm constantly doing checks, but so far they haven't caught it even though they are in contact with her all the time.

 

So - yeah, I'm not sure it's worth getting too freaked out about, it's one of those things.

[Mandamom]

My girls got lice from church. We were homeschooling at the time. 

[OneStepAtATime]

I wanted to come back and send you some additional hugs.  You seem really freaked out.  Please take a deep breath.  Whatever you decide, it will be o.k.  It will.  Hang in there.

 

 

[Starrinytes]

If you are planning on homeschooling, then it seems like pulling now wouldn't be such a huge deal if the kids are down for it (and your husband agreed to it). My youngest daughter went to school this first semester and there was *always* lice in her classroom. It was a small, private school, so not that many kids in the classes. She never got it, but I'd always pull her hair up, use tea tree shampoo, spray with hairspray, etc (and I don't like using hairspray on the kids, but I don't like lice even more!). So yea, it's not the end of the world if your kid gets it, but it is a huge, huge bummer.

 

I wouldn't keep her out of school for 2 weeks- it can still go around the class longer than that, so it really wouldn't make a huge difference honestly.

[Gil]

Do not panic over head lice.

It's lice, not the plague. Lice aren't really harmful aside from a bit of itching but mostly the "ICK" factor and maybe a little social stigma.

I would honor your spouses preference for the kids to finish the school year. You and your spouse are agreed about taking them out over the summer, but he is asking for them to finish this year despite the harmless but "ICK" lice problem.

 

If it matters to you at all, both of my kids attend a BM school currently and they are going to finish out the year, then return home.

I could pull them now, but it doesn't make sense too. They are still getting a few positives from the BM school and we are after schooling the essentials to a degree that I feel is acceptable.

 

There is only about 6-10 weeks left in the school year. Breathe. Breathe.

 

 

[Mimm]

Another homeschooler that had lice. And it sucked but we took care of it.

 

I might be tempted to pull them out though. :)

 

[Lecka]

Preventively I have heard that using styling gel makes it less likely to get lice, and I’ve heard rosemary sprays are preventive, too. There is a name brand “Rosemary Repel†and then there are home-made sprays.

 

I have never done anything preventive but these are things I have heard. If the teachers are aware of it going around, they will be taking precautions at school.

[Meadowlark]

Ok, I've calmed down a bit. :-) I know it's not truly the end of the world and that we can get through it if we happen to get it. I just really REALLY don't want to. But, I'm not really sure what I can do. My gut wants me to just keep her home next week but I'm not sure if that would really make any difference anyway. The lice could be around until the end of the year so what would 1 week matter...oh I don't know. I just want this school year to be over.

[eternalsummer]

Lice is not that hard to deal with.  You get a lice comb (a good one, from Amazon) and comb everyone in the house twice a day for about 2 weeks.  Combing takes maybe 15 minutes for a grown woman/teenage girl with long hair or 30 seconds for a small kid with short hair. (and in between, of course).  If you comb the kid who is in school every day you should never get lice to start with.

[...................]

You can spray an essential oil on her hair every day that is safe natural insect repellent and yes very tight braids, then you use a lice comb and check their hair every day before they’re allowed to come inside. Also keep their hair very clean as the lice don’t like clean hair either.

 

Lice went around my school 3 times, I and mys sister had very long hair, and we never had lice

[...................]

Yep. My mom put a chair outside the back door and no one came in until every inch of their hair was combed until the whole thing passed.

[SanDiegoMom]

I had lice three times in my house. We survived. We just used the medicine that kills them and then you use it affinity seven days later. We used a lice comb every day in between but technically you don't have to since the second round kills the rest. None of my kids gave it to the other kids, no bug spray, just washed the sheets every day.

 

I will admit my oldest daughter with think curly hair was a little more difficult to comb out. But comb out it did.

[Tsuga]

So now...there's lice in my daughter's classroom. All of you homeschoolers go ahead and feel really happy that you don't have to deal with this...this is a con that I never saw coming.

 

I've decided to definitely homeschool them next year (see my other post if you're confused) but how can I get through this year? I even considered pulling them out after spring break this year, but my husband wants them to finish the year..for closure and all that. But now, there's lice. And it's not just one person.

 

Do I have to send her back into that classroom? She has long hair and I know the precautions to take but I want to take zero, and I mean, zero chances with this. If lice gets into this house, I don't know how I would handle it with it going around potentially 5 other kids. But is that really a rational reason to bring her home abruptly....?

 

Have I really lost it that I just want her to come home? Is that completely unfair to do to her? Homeschooling her for the past 9 weeks would be no problem, and I have every single thing I would need. She's up for it, but she's only 6 and doesn't understand naturally. If nothing else, should I keep her home next week which would mean she'd be away from the classroom for 2 weeks? It'd be unexcused but I don't even care, she's only missed 1 day so it wouldn't be a big deal other than the school thinking I'm nuts. 

 

What would you do?

 

Zero chances doesn't exist in life. I know you already know that, and you've calmed down, but I want to emphasize that a desire for control is only satisfied through illusions. There's no real control. Even when you control the "now", you don't control the consequences or perceptions of that.

 

That said: lice sucks but it doesn't only exist at school.

 

The way to deal with possible infection for a long-haired six-year-old is:

 

1. First, check for nits! Straightening the hair by small clumps is the best because the straightener kills the eggs even the ones you miss. Put on a movie and straighten. Obviously, if you find lice, you have to delouse with chemicals first then dry with a blow dryer then straighten.

 

2. In the morning before school: use a softer mousse or gel throughout hair. Use fairly liberally so the hair almost feels sticky.

 

3. Pull hair into two buns, very neat and tight.

 

4. At night, wash and straighten again. Repeat with gel and buns in the morning.

 

The combination of nothing to latch on to, plus the scent and oil and chemicals from the mousse or hairspray or whatever, should prevent lice.

 

My kids went to a pre-school where one family was averse to chemical lice treatments. I nearly lost my mind with reinfections. This worked. It has worked for every lice outbreak for the past 5 years. Kill nits, prevent landing of bugs, and monitor infectious status. It works.

 

You wouldn't be the first mom to insist on buns for the rest of the school year. It's really okay to do that. Much less disruptive than taking them out of school. HTH

[Tsuga]

BTW  by straighten, I mean use a heat straightener. Like this:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0757LL4LV/ref=s9_acsd_cdeal_hd_bw_bkOl3_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=Y2YKD8A3XF8PPZZ844SY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=9a009262-7b18-58f0-a0e8-4c2a4fab593b&pf_rd_i=11058261

 

The heat + pressure kills nits. It's more reliable than combing them out in my experience because the heat gets what a comber misses.

[TX Native]

N/m

Edited March 23, 2018 by TX Native

[Lang Syne Boardie]

Have to agree with everyone that homeschooling doesn't seem to save people from lice. My family's never had it, for 23 years, but I honestly don't know why; with my kids' community involvement, it should have happened. It's so common here that schools don't even notify parents and children are not kept home. Yuck.

 

That's all I have to say about lice.

 

But about pulling a child out of school to homeschool, when the child doesn't care either way, and is below compulsory school age in twelve states, and you're a veteran homeschooling mother who knows what to expect, etc. -- I don't see how that's not rational, or why you need a reason.

 

You had a reason to put her in school. That reason no longer exists, and now you want her home. That's fine.

 

Lice might be your limit, but you've been sittin' on go for awhile. DH can be the nitpicker if nine weeks in ps is that important to him, or he can see a therapist if he needs closure; it doesn't sound like your dd needs closure, plus she'd be the one to actually suffer with lice...

[...................]

Zero chances doesn't exist in life. I know you already know that, and you've calmed down, but I want to emphasize that a desire for control is only satisfied through illusions. There's no real control. Even when you control the "now", you don't control the consequences or perceptions of that.

 

That said: lice sucks but it doesn't only exist at school.

 

The way to deal with possible infection for a long-haired six-year-old is:

 

1. First, check for nits! Straightening the hair by small clumps is the best because the straightener kills the eggs even the ones you miss. Put on a movie and straighten. Obviously, if you find lice, you have to delouse with chemicals first then dry with a blow dryer then straighten.

 

2. In the morning before school: use a softer mousse or gel throughout hair. Use fairly liberally so the hair almost feels sticky.

 

3. Pull hair into two buns, very neat and tight.

 

4. At night, wash and straighten again. Repeat with gel and buns in the morning.

 

The combination of nothing to latch on to, plus the scent and oil and chemicals from the mousse or hairspray or whatever, should prevent lice.

 

My kids went to a pre-school where one family was averse to chemical lice treatments. I nearly lost my mind with reinfections. This worked. It has worked for every lice outbreak for the past 5 years. Kill nits, prevent landing of bugs, and monitor infectious status. It works.

 

You wouldn't be the first mom to insist on buns for the rest of the school year. It's really okay to do that. Much less disruptive than taking them out of school. HTH

Don’t be too quick to judge that mom, my dd is allergic

To all permethrins and pyrethrums (and the chrysanthemum plant)

 

IF she ever got lice the essential oils and comb would be our only option

[Ellie]

We had been homeschooling for several years when we got lice. :ohmy:

 

And also I withdrew my older daughter from her private Christian school during Easter break of first grade. So, yeah, if you want to bring your daughter home now, DO IT. I promise that although your dh thinks there needs to be "closure," there does not. "Closure" is an adult thing, not a child thing. (Of course, I don't think you should do it if he is adamantly opposed, but honestly, there really isn't a good reason to make her finish the year there).

[Tanaqui]

Don’t be too quick to judge that mom, my dd is allergic

To all permethrins and pyrethrums (and the chrysanthemum plant)

 

IF she ever got lice the essential oils and comb would be our only option

 

Combing is the best option, but it's not the only option even in your situation.

 

Heat treatment appears to work - the goal is to dehydrate the critters, so you can do this at home by dividing the hair into 20+ equal segments, combing each section individually, then putting a blowdryer on medium (you don't want to burn your child!) and holding it close to the scalp for half a minute before moving to the next section.

 

Alternatively, prescription-level medicine in the US is made with benzyl alcohol - it's way more effective than what you buy over the counter. It's $100 per dose if you buy the prescription, or you can buy some cheap conditioner and plain benzyl alcohol for $20 and really go to town. A tablespoon of the alcohol for every cup of the conditioner, let it sit on the head 20 minutes before rinsing. (Note: Benzyl alcohol will eat your plastic measuring spoons. Buy cheapies.)

 

The lice treatments they use in Europe have the goal not of poisoning the lice, but of suffocating them. You can probably order some online.

 

You can use DE on your child's hair, there's some complicated method involving using a t-shirt to keep it from getting in the face. I advise a face mask and goggles during application. DE will kill any bug, rips them apart.

 

And, if push comes to shove, well, some people rock the buzz cut.

 

(But whatever you do, short of buzzing everybody's hair, you will have to comb as well. Them's the breaks.)

[Peaceseeker]

I brought my daughter home in March of her kindergarten year. She was totally fine. If you are ready and your daughter is ready I would go for it. If your husband is really not on board then maybe he gets to do any lice combing and treatments for the last nine weeks of public school. 😀

[...................]

Combing is the best option, but it's not the only option even in your situation.

 

Heat treatment appears to work - the goal is to dehydrate the critters, so you can do this at home by dividing the hair into 20+ equal segments, combing each section individually, then putting a blowdryer on medium (you don't want to burn your child!) and holding it close to the scalp for half a minute before moving to the next section.

 

Alternatively, prescription-level medicine in the US is made with benzyl alcohol - it's way more effective than what you buy over the counter. It's $100 per dose if you buy the prescription, or you can buy some cheap conditioner and plain benzyl alcohol for $20 and really go to town. A tablespoon of the alcohol for every cup of the conditioner, let it sit on the head 20 minutes before rinsing. (Note: Benzyl alcohol will eat your plastic measuring spoons. Buy cheapies.)

 

The lice treatments they use in Europe have the goal not of poisoning the lice, but of suffocating them. You can probably order some online.

 

You can use DE on your child's hair, there's some complicated method involving using a t-shirt to keep it from getting in the face. I advise a face mask and goggles during application. DE will kill any bug, rips them apart.

 

And, if push comes to shove, well, some people rock the buzz cut.

 

(But whatever you do, short of buzzing everybody's hair, you will have to comb as well. Them's the breaks.)

 

...I guess we could use the blowdryer ....that's good to know! The heat iron is out as her hair is extremly curly corkscrew hair.  

 

BUT we would definitely be going to the doctor to find out about that other non-pyrethrin stuff!! 

 

Even the comb is difficult on corkscrew curly hair..

 

I am glad my dd never got it! 

[HS Mom in NC]

The first time we got lice was from the neighbor kid. A few years later we started the homeschool enrichment program at a school and got lice a couple of times over the last 2 years.  It's not a terminal illness or anything.  There are several treatment options.

[sweet2ndchance]

My oldest daughter got lice from her 2nd cousin when we took a vacation to visit family. She had never been to public school ever when that happened. We bought the shampoo and the nit comb. Followed all the instructions to the letter. Heat treated and sprayed everything. She still had lice after we finished the treatment as per the instructions. I called her pediatrician and the nurse told me that its only 50-50 that the shampoo will work. She told me to slather her hair in mayonnaise, making sure her scalp is well coated, put a shower cap on her and a pillow case on her pillow that I don't care about. Have her sleep with the mayo and shower cap on and then rinse with warm white or apple cider vinegar in the morning. Then wash as usual. Then put some vinegar in a spray bottle and spray her hair every day for two weeks while going through with a nit comb. The ped's nurse told me that dd will smell like potato salad for a few days but the lice will be gone. It worked like a charm.

 

We didn't have a problem with lice again until 5 or 6 years later when my younger daughter was in public school. The first time she got them, I did the mayo/vinegar treatment and they were gone. She got them again 3 months later and I took more drastic action that time. I did the mayo and vinegar again to initially get rid of them but I figured lice was probably so prevalent in this school because all the kids hang their coats on hooks that allow the coats to touch each other. Since I couldn't really do anything about that (and pulling her out to homeschool wasn't an option at that time) I read up on what I could do. Turns out lice do not like hair that has lots of hairspray or gel. So everyday she had her hair done with hairspray or gel in it. I tried to do mostly up-dos with her for a while, all kinds of wild pony tails and cutesy hairstyles that I watched youtube videos on how to do them. But any bit of hair that was loose like the tail part of the pony tail, I would spray the hair brush with hairspray and run it through her pony tail a few times. It wasn't enough hairspray to make it stiff but I could definitely smell the hairspray in her hair. Of course, we had to wash her hair every night but we never had a problem with lice again despite them going around the school like wild fire.

 

If you are a reasonably clean family to begin with and stay on top of watching for lice when they are going around, it is possible that you can contain the infestation if it happens. All three times we've had to deal with lice, only the affected child had them. It didn't pass to all six of my kids like the chicken pox, colds or pink eye did. Lice are gross and I'd rather not deal with it, but it's not the end of the world either.

Edited March 18, 2018 by sweet2ndchance

[Mandamom]

Don’t be too quick to judge that mom, my dd is allergic

To all permethrins and pyrethrums (and the chrysanthemum plant)

 

IF she ever got lice the essential oils and comb would be our only option

 

I used straight vinegar and that helped a lot. I thought it did better than anything else we tried. 

[eternalsummer]

When we did get lice it wasn't from school, btw.  We got it from a cousin. (more than once, the same cousin)

[Terabith]

Honestly......it was not as simple as just combing in my experience, and the over the counter lice shampoo is worse than useless.  It got so bad I shaved my head.  We've had lice three or four times, in close succession.  It was honestly up there with the time everyone got the stomach virus and the youngest wound up hospitalized in terms of horror.  I mean, no, they aren't carrying diseases.  But it can be really, really hard to get rid of them, especially if your children have done things like ride in the car or sit on any furniture.  We used prescription shampoo and went to a professional lice lady and still did daily combing for months, which takes hours to do on multiple people.  We also were banned from visiting my mother over Christmas because she didn't want to take the chance that my kids had acquired lice and spread them to her house.

 

I didn't pull my kids out of school, even though it was very, very clearly where they were coming from.  But, if I was thinking about pulling them anyway?  It would certainly weigh pretty heavily.  I would not call you crazy for doing that.

[Tanaqui]

But it can be really, really hard to get rid of them, especially if your children have done things like ride in the car or sit on any furniture.

 

Lice can't survive off the human head for more than a day or so. Three at max. A quick vacuum of any of those areas should be more than sufficient to kill any lice.

 

Bedbugs now....

 

[eternalsummer]

Maybe we just got lucky with lice.  We did get them several times - I can't even count, but at least 3 or maybe more.  The thing is, the cousin has them pretty much constantly, so whenever they spent the weekend with cousin (we used to live in the same city) or vacation there, now that we live farther away, DD12 would share a bed and hair grooming and etc. with cousin and surprise, we'd get lice.  I never went to these things so I couldn't monitor; refusing to visit cousin was definitely not an option.

 

We did wash pillowcases and sheets every day during the lice purge and banished stuffed animals from the bed.

 

We did the heat and the shampoo both with the first infestation because I was so freaked out (and we had so many, because we had no idea that cousin had lice at that point, so spent 2 months treating head itchiness with hypoallergenic shampoos and hot oil treatments and etc.).  I don't know that the shampoo did anything; I think the heat did kill the nits that I missed with the comb, but after I read about the life cycle of lice I realized that killing the nits was really unnecessary - as long as you are combing every morning, you catch any newly hatched ones and eventually you've caught all the hatchlings before they can reproduce and lay eggs.

 

The key is, for us, that each child, even children without lice at first, have to be combed every day, because if a hatchling climbs from one kid's hair to another kid's hair and you have ignored kid 2 because he didn't have lice in the first place, you can eradicate lice on original kid completely but the hatchling on kid 2 will grow up and lay eggs and they will hatch and then you have lice again.

 

I have 6 kids; DD12 is old enough to do her own hair now and can also do the little boys' hair; DS9 takes about 5 minutes a day; DD6 takes 10 minutes.  When I was doing DD12's hair (long, thick, etc.), it took about half an hour most mornings.  So total time less than an hour.  A sucky hour, and I still occasionally have a paranoia that I've got lice somehow and I comb everyone just to make sure, but not the worst thing in the world.

 

 

I read somewhere that ancient Egyptians used to be buried (entombed?) with their lice combs to take to the afterworld.  I can say that this is something I definitely understand.  I always own a lice comb now, and always will.  It is one of the things I will grab during an escape from the Apocalypse.  

 

 

 

All of that said, if your kids don't want to leave school I do think it would be unnecessarily traumatic to bring them home in the middle of the year unless you have an exceedingly good reason.  For me, "they might get lice" is not a good enough reason to make kids that sad.

[Tsuga]

Don’t be too quick to judge that mom, my dd is allergic

To all permethrins and pyrethrums (and the chrysanthemum plant)

 

IF she ever got lice the essential oils and comb would be our only option

If you aren't willing to use chemical treatments you still should not send kids to school with lice. You need to suffocate, wash, heat dry, then straighten

 

 

My main issue was that they never got rid of their lice, and I was a single working mother going to school who had to delouse repeatedly.

[Storygirl]

One of my children had lice last year. I could. not. deal. on my own, so I took her to a treatment salon, and that took care of it. We did wash and dry and clean e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. from DD's room. My clothes dryer got a major workout.

 

DD had had the infestation for several weeks, according to the lice people. :ack2: :ack2: :ack2: :ack2:  Even so, none of the rest of us got it, including the DD who shares her sister's room, and who has long, luxurious hair.

 

It can spread through families, of course. There was a family leaving the treatment center when we got there, who had all been treated. But it was limited to one child in our family, and we managed to get rid of them. It freaked me out and caused a lot of work, but I don't blame it on the fact that she is enrolled in school.

Edited March 19, 2018 by Storygirl

[scoutingmom]

Ok, we got a case from the grandson and tried everything. 3 girls, my son, and me. We clipped my son's hair short and I could check him quickly. Tried the over-the counter stuff.... totally useless. Tried the oil in hair overnight. Various things. Combing over and over. Combing with conditioner in hair. Tried the Robo-comb (zaps them.... just made the hair to static-y to deal with.) And it would take hours to comb through the hair.

 

What worked costs about $2 for the whole family. Blue Dawn Dish Soap. It is majic I swear. Put in hair liberally right down to scalp. Lots. Let it sit in hair 30 minutes. Rinse out.

 

Optionally put vinegar in hair liberally and sit for 30 minutes then rinse out (supposedly breaks down the nit 'glue'). Treatment works without this step.

 

Condition hair and rinse out, then comb out.

 

Repeat treatment in 2 days. If you find anything at all during this treatment, treat again in 2 days. Do checks for anything missed or recontamination from others... but it has always worked for me right off.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

[katilac]

I used straight vinegar and that helped a lot. I thought it did better than anything else we tried. 

 

Yes, the vinegar "unglues" the nits and they are about a billion times easier to comb out. Straight vinegar is pretty harsh, though, we diluted with half water and it still bothered my kids. So if your kids tend to be sensitive or get hives, I'd start with a dilution. 

 

 

 

What worked costs about $2 for the whole family. Blue Dawn Dish Soap. It is majic I swear. Put in hair liberally right down to scalp. Lots. Let it sit in hair 30 minutes. Rinse out.

 

Optionally put vinegar in hair liberally and sit for 30 minutes then rinse out (supposedly breaks down the nit 'glue'). Treatment works without this step.

 

Condition hair and rinse out, then comb out.

 

 

 

Anything that coats the hair well and is left in for 30 minutes will work to smother the adult lice. We used coconut oil and thick hair conditioner, both worked well. 

 

The vinegar does break down the nit 'glue' (gag!) but it does not need to be left in nearly that long. Thirty minutes is super harsh for even the toughest of scalps. We used a 50/50 water dilution and left it in for just a few minutes, and it worked quite well. You have to be careful that they haven't been scratching so much that they have actual scratches and sore spots on their head, because then the vinegar will really burn. We found that even super-quick applications were a big help. 

 

My kids and I break out in hives if we use the wrong detergent, or eat the wrong food, or if someone looks at us funny. Trying the harsh medicated stuff was not an option for us, but smothering the adults and combing out the nits (with vinegar) worked just fine. 

[Bluegoat]

I had lice three times in my house. We survived. We just used the medicine that kills them and then you use it affinity seven days later. We used a lice comb every day in between but technically you don't have to since the second round kills the rest. None of my kids gave it to the other kids, no bug spray, just washed the sheets every day.

 

I will admit my oldest daughter with think curly hair was a little more difficult to comb out. But comb out it did.

 

That totally does not work here, and I'm told it is the same in a lot of places.  The shampoo seems to slow them down a bit so you can squash the little buggers, but nothing kills them.

[regentrude]

If you want to pull her out anyway, there is no real reason to wait until the end of the school year.

If you definitely want to homeschool again, I don't see why you can't pull them out now. I withdrew mine in October and January, respectively.

Edited March 19, 2018 by regentrude

[Meadowlark]

If you want to pull her out anyway, there is no real reason to wait until the end of the school year.

If you definitely want to homeschool again, I don't see why you can't pull them out now. I withdrew mine in October and January, respectively.

This might be the push I need! I've been seriously considering just pulling them out now. I think you're right, why delay the inevitable? If they're going to be homeschooled, then why not just take them out now? I don't think 9 weeks one way or another is really going to make a ton of difference, but just thinking about the rich literature, fun crafts and other stuff gets me a bit giddy. I'm going to get my sweethearts back! :-)

[Lang Syne Boardie]

If you want to pull her out anyway, there is no real reason to wait until the end of the school year.

If you definitely want to homeschool again, I don't see why you can't pull them out now. I withdrew mine in October and January, respectively.

  

 

This might be the push I need! I've been seriously considering just pulling them out now. I think you're right, why delay the inevitable? If they're going to be homeschooled, then why not just take them out now? I don't think 9 weeks one way or another is really going to make a ton of difference, but just thinking about the rich literature, fun crafts and other stuff gets me a bit giddy. I'm going to get my sweethearts back! :-)

 

What were the rest of us, chopped liver? LOL

[Ravin]

Hair oil and a scarf is what let DD (my homeschooler) stop bringing it home from her enrichment program.

[Farrar]

I think there's some value in letting older kids finish the school year if there's not a dire reason to pull them. But for a 6 yo, I think you can just do it.

[Meadowlark]

I think there's some value in letting older kids finish the school year if there's not a dire reason to pull them. But for a 6 yo, I think you can just do it.

Yes, I agree. I would feel strange about pulling my older kids, even my first grader. But he (as of tonight) wants to stay and so he will. But I keep asking the 6 yr. old and she repeatedly, without wavering, keeps telling me she wants to come home. I keep thinking she'll change her mind, and she may, but if she is asking me to come home, then I think I'll bring her home.

[eternalsummer]

Well if she wants to come home, that's entirely different and I'd pull her tomorrow.

 

If they want to stay, I'd let them finish out the year.

[Tiramisu]

As you realize, the lice is a separate issue. Lots of homeschoolers get lice. The worst infestations I know of have been among homeschoolers. That's just my experience, but schools don't allow kids back in with lice so it's usually dealt with quickly.

 

We had an infestation in a D's classroom once, so I would recommend putting some pressure on the school to treat the classroom asap.

 

We never had lice spread among family members but I was relentless about coming through and picking out nits.

 

I would take out kids who want to homeschool at any point agreed upon by you and your DH. Right now would be fine if you agree the decision and timing is truly in their best interest. You said it's a good school so it doesn't seem like there is a question of their imminent safety or well-being.

 

I would think twice about taking a kid out of school mid-year who is happy and doing well, unless there are extenuating circumstances. For any kids like that, I'd revisit it over the summer.

 

Looking back, I traumatized one of my children by taking her out mid-year. I don't say that lightly. She was only in K but she cried every night like she was in physical pain for a long time after. I think she had a predisposition to depression but that was likely the primary trigger. It lasted over three years, until I put her back in school again.

 

My one serious piece of advice is to make sure this is about what's best for each child individually and not about what you want. You are wanting them home again now. That is a truly beautiful thing in this crazy world of mixed up priorities. Just make sure you and your DH are on the same page. He seems to be thinking prudently and cautiously while you seem to be caught up in emotion--a very good and worthy emotion but still worth thinking through carefully.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Tiramisu

[Ravin]

As you realize, the lice is a separate issue. Lots of homeschoolers get lice. The worst infestations I know of have been among homeschoolers. That's just my experience, but schools don't allow kids back in with lice so it's usually dealt with quickly.

 

 

 

Maybe where you live. My mom (in Texas) has had the worst time with my little sister's school and lice. It got to the point where she just kept pelicucide shampoo mixed in to their regular shampoo as a preventative measure. (I suggested tea tree oil would smell better and work as well, but my mom always has her own ideas.) The school policy is to NOT sent kids home or prevent them from coming to school. They just send notes home.

[Meadowlark]

Yep. They don't send anyone home with lice. In fact, the teachers are not even allowed to tell parents. ONLY if there are 3 or more cases. I only know because I asked her outright, and even then she didn't have to tell me, but she did.

[Tiramisu]

Maybe where you live. My mom (in Texas) has had the worst time with my little sister's school and lice. It got to the point where she just kept pelicucide shampoo mixed in to their regular shampoo as a preventative measure. (I suggested tea tree oil would smell better and work as well, but my mom always has her own ideas.) The school policy is to NOT sent kids home or prevent them from coming to school. They just send notes home.

Oops. Sorry. Our local elementary school had a strict lice policy. Kids were sent home immediately and had to be cleared before returning to school.

 

I also realize while I have a lot of weaknesses, I have infinite patience and perseverance when it comes to picking out nits which helps keep any lice from getting out of control.

 

My kids also have sensory issues, so we have always caught them quick.

[scoutingmom]

 

 

but schools don't allow kids back in with lice so it's usually dealt with quickly.

 

 

That is very dependant on where you live. We have about 5 school divisions just in my city. Each one has their own lice policy. And some school divisions leave it up to the school. How do I know that they have varied policies? Because our cub leader during an outbreak tried to make the group policy 'the same as school policy'. With scouting members in the group attending several schools from at least 3 school divisions.... several different policies.

 

The Paediatric Society of Canada, and our Provincial health authority do NOT recommend not allowing school for kids with lice.

[scoutingmom]

I see it has already been mentioned.

Edited March 21, 2018 by scoutingmom

[Meadowlark]

Well, the decision was made for me.

My daughter came home today with an invitation for us to come to school and eat lunch with her and see what she's doing in science. It is in April. I said (for the zillionth time) ...Do you still want to come home? And with a sweet little smile she said, " I want to stay". Well okay. Whew. That was a few brain cells that I'll never get back.

 

Hoping and praying that the lice stays away! In the meantime, I'm excitedly planning for next year.