Head Lice in the School: How to Deal with Infestations
Many elementary teachers are in great despair that the instances of head lice among their students are growing rapidly more frequent and even rapidly worse.
Cases of head lice seem to plaguing schools all over, as they always have; teachers say the difference lies not in hygiene but in the way that parents are dealing (or not dealing) with head lice when their children become infested.
It used to be that a head lice infection was a really serious thing.
A child was sent home from school as soon as head lice were detected in an effort to not spread the lice to any other children.
That day, a note went home with the other children of the class to inform all parents that they should meticulously examine their child's head that night for signs of lice...
and the bottom line is that parents did it! Now, not all parents have the time and the energy to do this, and some argue that no such note is coming home from school to inform them that now would be a good time to do a lice check.
Teachers claim that they don't bother sending such notes home anymore because nobody was actually following their advice.
Both sides are experiencing frustration on being misunderstood and mistreated by the other.
The child who was sent home from school 20 years ago when it was found that they had lice would be picked up by a parent, in general, ready to head to the pharmacy for some lice-killing shampoo, and then home for a rigorous bath, hair combing, and then a marathon vacuuming session.
Teachers claim that this is no longer the case.
First of all, sending children home is no longer always possible because of working parents.
Second of all, even if a child is picked up by a parent or guardian, that doesn't mean that the child will come back to school lice-free the next day.
In many cases, the child goes home and plays video games for the afternoon, unaffected and unconcerned about being sent home from school.
Of course, children will make fun of each other for having 'cooties', but the truth is that children make fun of each other based on these grounds regardless of head lice, fleas or even body odors.
It's an inane insult that doesn't actually have a base in anything.
Most children have no idea what cooties actually are; it's one of those words they use all the time, but have no real concept of.
Teachers are hoping for a reversal in the current trend of what they apathy on the part of the parents when it comes to ridding their sons and daughters of head lice.
Teachers lament that as long as there are a few parents not doing what they should against this common problem among children, all of the other children in the class will face infestation after infestation as the lice go round and round and round from one child to another.
Cases of head lice seem to plaguing schools all over, as they always have; teachers say the difference lies not in hygiene but in the way that parents are dealing (or not dealing) with head lice when their children become infested.
It used to be that a head lice infection was a really serious thing.
A child was sent home from school as soon as head lice were detected in an effort to not spread the lice to any other children.
That day, a note went home with the other children of the class to inform all parents that they should meticulously examine their child's head that night for signs of lice...
and the bottom line is that parents did it! Now, not all parents have the time and the energy to do this, and some argue that no such note is coming home from school to inform them that now would be a good time to do a lice check.
Teachers claim that they don't bother sending such notes home anymore because nobody was actually following their advice.
Both sides are experiencing frustration on being misunderstood and mistreated by the other.
The child who was sent home from school 20 years ago when it was found that they had lice would be picked up by a parent, in general, ready to head to the pharmacy for some lice-killing shampoo, and then home for a rigorous bath, hair combing, and then a marathon vacuuming session.
Teachers claim that this is no longer the case.
First of all, sending children home is no longer always possible because of working parents.
Second of all, even if a child is picked up by a parent or guardian, that doesn't mean that the child will come back to school lice-free the next day.
In many cases, the child goes home and plays video games for the afternoon, unaffected and unconcerned about being sent home from school.
Of course, children will make fun of each other for having 'cooties', but the truth is that children make fun of each other based on these grounds regardless of head lice, fleas or even body odors.
It's an inane insult that doesn't actually have a base in anything.
Most children have no idea what cooties actually are; it's one of those words they use all the time, but have no real concept of.
Teachers are hoping for a reversal in the current trend of what they apathy on the part of the parents when it comes to ridding their sons and daughters of head lice.
Teachers lament that as long as there are a few parents not doing what they should against this common problem among children, all of the other children in the class will face infestation after infestation as the lice go round and round and round from one child to another.
