Do you agree with a school if they search your childs head for lice ?

Canada
September 18, 2008 6:58am CST
School is in once againg and one big concern when children are in school is lice as it is often contacted when your child goes to school . Lice is a big problem in most schools but who should be checking the childs head , would you not think as a parent this should be your responsibility ? What about the parents out there who don't bother to take the time and then lice is spread throughout the shcool time after time because of this child ? How would you feel if your school checked your childs head for lice ? Do you feel the have the right to do this ? How would you feel if the person coming in to do this was a parent ? What if the person checking your child was not wearing gloves while they were doing this ? Do you believe someone checking in the schools could passs it on to your child because they are seaching all the studenets ?
9 people like this
25 responses
• Philippines
18 Sep 08
Its embarrassing but schools have the right to check for lice. The school doesn't only have responsibility to your own child but also to the community's youngsters. Some parents have neglected to teach proper body hygiene to their kids, so someone must do the dirty job.
3 people like this
@deebomb (15304)
• United States
18 Sep 08
Head lice has nothing to do with hygiene. They can be picked up any where.
1 person likes this
• Canada
18 Sep 08
This is true and a misconception of many that head lice is only attracted to dirty hair !! Thank you for your response .
@BethTN81 (564)
• United States
19 Sep 08
Right, lice has nothing to do with hygiene, they actually prefer clean hair.
@kavinsh (78)
• India
20 Sep 08
hi samtaylorskykierajen being the parents it is ur duty to check the head of ur child daily. but if school authorities are doing this then u should not have any problem. let them do their work. its really embarresing if ur child got lice. it is spreading very fast. so take care of child is the duty of parents.
2 people like this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
19 Sep 08
I think schools && daycares or any other place that works with kids has every right to search our childrens head. I use to work with younger && older kids && at times we had to check the children if we saw signs, like itching && so on or if we had a parent come in && say their child had lice, we will then send letters out to the other parents && advise them to check their childs hair, but we would also be checking ourself. Some parents believe it or not, don't take the time to search their childs hair, so sometimes the school needs to step in. I had a little boy who I sent home with lice 4 times in 2 weeks because the mother refused to keep up with the treatment for lice. It's not that hard to keep it under control. You just got to be on it. && it's always good to have at least two people search a childs head for lice. ONe might see something the other didn't. So I woulld think the school is actually helping us parents, if you think about it. As for them spreading it to the other children, well I'm sure they are very, very careful. When I was told by my director to search my class, we were to actually go outside on the bench && search the childs head. We also had to use gloves for each child. Different gloves that is && wash hands before we move tot he next child. So we made sure it wouldn't be passsed down to the others if one child did happen to have it. && I'm sure that is how most schools do it.
1 person likes this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
20 Sep 08
Don't know what kind of school that is, but the nurse && only the nurse or office is suppose to do that work && can't use same comb or gloves. So if this is going on in a school, then report it to the health district, it's our job as parents to do that if we notice something being done in a wrong manner.
• Canada
19 Sep 08
We have a family that refuses to treat in which their children go to the same school as my children and when they think there is an outbreak at the school they try to keep it hush hush and will have someone they know come chech the children . Usually a parent that one of the teachers know and they do not take time to wear gloves and it is often spread around because they do not know what they are doing . They use the same comb in every childs head when they do the checking . Thank you for your response .
• United States
18 Sep 08
When my kids go back to school, I'm always checking their heads daily for lice and nits and do think it should be the responsibility of the parent to make sure their kids don't have lice. Unfortunately, some parents are much to busy to do this simple task, so they don't do much, except buy the lice treatment shampoo, when the school reports to them that their child has lice, so it don't bother me to much that at least the school is trying to look out for the kids. Here the parents usually get notice before a check is to be done in the school, so on lice checking day I always go in with each of my children to make sure clean gloves were put on, so far they have been really good about changing gloves with each child they inspect. If any nits or lice have been found on my children, everyone in the family gets treated that day. So I always have a supply of treatment shampoo on hand, just in case.
1 person likes this
• United States
18 Sep 08
It's a shame that the school in your area is doing that. Especially since lice can transport different diseases to each of the children that are bitten by them. I don't blame parents for wanting to keep their kids out of that situation, considering the facts. The school should at least inform the parents about any sort of outbreak that is occurring within that school. Kind of scary if you ask me, and I would keep my kids home to. Here is it is the law that the school must send notice to the parents before any sort of check centered around medical issues is performed at the school, and the parent must be informed immediately if it is found that their child has something that could be a potential health hazard to other students in the school. Though, yes, it should be the parents responsibility to make sure their kids aren't going to school with a potentially contagious disease, this is not always the case and word does need to get out in some manner, so it can be brought under control.
1 person likes this
• Canada
18 Sep 08
I always check my children as well and always have something on hand just in case but here the schools do not ask permission at all and will often try to hide the fact that lice is even going around the school . One year it was so bad that they almost had to shut down the school and parents such as myself ended up keeping our children home to be on the safe side . Thank you for your response .
19 Sep 08
As a student I know that the public schools in my area definitely send out letters to the parents warning of a health hazard. They usually have a mass-mailing letter that has a check on the health problem: flu, pink eye, etc. I've never heard of a lice check but when I went to middle school there was definitely a scoliosis check. The students were told beforehand but as far as I know, there was no parental notification. I guess lice isn't really a big problem around here...
@Ithink (9980)
• United States
19 Sep 08
I think it is a must for the schools to check as you have parents that just check their children, there are also parents that really do nothing about it, at least that is what it is like here. It drives me nuts to see a family do nothing. It has to be uncomfortable for the child to begin with! When there is a child found here we are notified. I check my kids all the time as my son is in football and the girls well you know how girls can be, whispering to each other, hugs, ect., All it takes is 1 louse to find a grip from one hair to another to infest your child. Everyone is ashamed when it is found but it does not mean you are dirty ect, lice actually like clean hair better then dirty. I did alot of reading about it 2 years ago when there was a bad outbreak at our school. The one thing that if you read up on them is they are getting immune to the shampoos out there as they are evolving. The best thing I have found is to go thru the hair and use a lice comb. The other thing is Tea Tree Oil seems to keep them at bay.
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
I had a problem with lice years ago and we were not able to get rid of it because like you said , lice are becomming immune to the shampoo they have out there . I have heard a lot about this Tee Tree and would like to look for a bottle of it now that I have another child just starting school and would like to have something that might help prevent her from getting it . Thank you for your response .
@Ithink (9980)
• United States
19 Sep 08
You can find it at Wal-mart and Rite-Aid, probably other places too. Hope this helps. You add drops to the shampoo and conditioner and it seems to help keep them at bay. I have found to that daily combing helps as just in case you will find one before a child gets alot. The thing I hate is other parents that dont think it is a big thing (which it isnt life threatening or anything) but just the thought ya know? Good luck in any battles I hope that you dont have this year.
@austere (2812)
• Philippines
19 Sep 08
well, we dont do that in our country, i mean, the teachers or school doctors doesnt check on the students hair to see if there are any lice there.. but i think it's okay. embarassing, but if the parents are unaware, it can help them take action on the "lice" problem of their children. so i think it's okay...
• Canada
19 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
@austere (2812)
• Philippines
20 Sep 08
no problem! happy mylotting and see you around! cheers..
@emarie (5442)
• United States
19 Sep 08
i don't mind them checking my kids head for lice. i'm not sure what it looks like, so i wouldn't have too much confidence in myself. my kids are clean and wash their hair so i'm sure they're safe. i remember getting those checks when i was younger as well. so i don't mind at all. its all for safety and i don't even know how likely it is to spread to each other.
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
• Canada
19 Sep 08
ugh lice !! i don't like creepy crawly bugs at all and not in my head . I would not want anyone in the school going trhough my kids head if I had kids . I would rather my doctor do this . I do think they could pass it on to all the kids that don't have lice and then it would be hard to get rid of with so many kids with it cause it spreads really really easy . I never had it and hope to keep it that way and hope when i have kids that they never get it either .
1 person likes this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
19 Sep 08
They wash their hands && change their gloves for each child. So it doesn't spread to the next child during this lice check.
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
They actually don't wash their hands in our school and they don't wear gloves either as it is often a volunteer parent who does the checking and often it is spread because they don't know what they are doing or what they are even looking for . Thank you for your response .
• Canada
19 Sep 08
I don't have any kids yet but would be ok with this if it was a nurse but would be upset if another parent was looking through my kids head for lice. I woudl not know if they knew what to look for and they could pass it on to my kids by not doing it right . I will check my kids myself when I have kids and hope they never get it but anybody can get it because they seem to really like people with clean hair and my kdis will be clean .
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
@sharra1 (6340)
• Australia
19 Sep 08
I think lice is a very serious problem and all children need to be checked. After all lice jump to clean heads and infestation can spread quickly. It only takes one child with lice to spread it to the whole school even if the children are clean. I would see it as simply a health measure, especially if it is a problem at the school.
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
• Canada
18 Sep 08
No the school should not do that they should just not let the kids with lice go to the school and if they think they have it send them home and tell there parents to check them cause they could spread it to other kids if they didn't wear gloves and that should be for the parents to check . The shcool is to teach they are not a doctor .
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
@BethTN81 (564)
• United States
19 Sep 08
How could the school send the child home if they don't check them? There is no other way to know if someone has lice rather than to check their head. Yes, the school is to teach, but the school systems also put nurses in the school for a reason. To make sure children get healthcare if needed while in school, that also means checking heads for lice. Also, when a child is sent home for headlice, they are not allowd back until the nits are gone. The school system here has a NO NIT POLICY, which means they will do whatever they need to make sure headlice does not spread in schools. That means checking students heads.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Sep 08
I am grateful that the schools check for head lice and the school my daughter attends when there is a case of head lice they send letters out to all the parents advising them of the potential outbreak, they do not give any names or anything like that. I like that they send out letters because there are certain percautions that you as a parent can take to help prevent your child from getting lice. Like dropping 2-3 drops of Tee Tree oil in your childs shampoo bottle. Serious, that stuff is AWESOME. The few times I have witnessed teachers checking heads, they did have gloves on and also wore a hair net thing. It is the duty of the teachers to teach and protect your child while they are at school. This is a form of protection.
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
I have heard of this Tee Tree shampoo before and would like to look for a bottle of it to keep at home just for precautionary sake . Thank you for your response .
• Philippines
19 Sep 08
A good hygiene has nothing to do with lice. Teachers should check proper hygiene to students thats their responsibility to ensure good hygiene and helping students to be presentable in the public. Lice is something that is very embarrassing that is why teacher should inform the parents of the students who have lice on their head so that actions will be done immediately..or perhaps a teacher should call for a meeting and talk with the parents about lice.. Lice-Cause from the excessive heat of the son, and lice jumps too fast with another heads that's why i am saying in here that a good hygiene has nothing to do with lice, because lice do not choose heads it just go there and reside there once your child classmate or students has lice with their heads, it spread throughout.
• Canada
19 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
• United States
19 Sep 08
I feel like it is the parent's job to take care of their child. I am also however ok with the teachers checking for lice. The parents have the right to know if there is a problem with the children. I believe the teacher should wear gloves so maybe it is less likely to be spread. I feel however overall it is a good thing for teachers as well as parents to make sure there isn't a problem with lice.
1 person likes this
• Canada
19 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
@xvandyx (121)
• United States
18 Sep 08
I remember when I was a little girl in elementary school there would be constant lice check ups. I actually got lice from my cousin (I would sleep over a lot). My mom would always be checking us even if it was late at night. Just to make sure we didn't have any lice. I think schools should be allowed to check for head lice. It's actually their responsibility to make sure that the school is lice-free since some kids can get sick from it! I think it only benefits the children, and parents should be grateful that the school cares. If a person wasn't wearing gloves then I'd be furious of course, but most of the schools that check for lice, the nurse does the job. And to my knowledge, nurses have common sense and would know to put gloves on. It is only normal procedure for them. If the person checking the student for lice takes the proper precautions when checking for lice, then I say all should go well. Usually, the nurse uses disposable combs to check for lice (from what I remember) and throws them after each student. Mind you, they don't check every single student in one day. So the supply isn't going to run low. If life is found, the nurse takes it out of the hair and tapes it with tape to show the student and parent. At least, that's why my nurse did.
• Canada
19 Sep 08
That would be a good way to do it and I would agree to something like that . In our area they will hire a parent to check the children and they do not use different combs they use the same comb in every childs hair , basically spreading the lice to those who do not have it and they do not inform us unless there are many classes with it . One year they almost had to close down our school that is how bad it was . When I found out , I refused to allow my children to go to school until the lice cases were cleared up as they were only passing it to children who didn't have it by the way they were checking for it . Thank you for your response .
@laglen (19759)
• United States
18 Sep 08
I believe that schools should continue to check. This is a public health issue. When they are there and there is a possibility, they should be checked. Think of the opportunity for infestation through out the day.
• Canada
18 Sep 08
Thank you for your response .
@Feona1962 (7526)
• United States
18 Sep 08
Hi sam... I would think the nurses would be the ones to check if they needed too! I know when my son was in grade school there was a family that constantly had lice...They even shaved their daughters head..but they didn't clean everything at home and it kept coming back.. We never had a problem with lice...thank goodness... I do think if it is suspected that the child would be sent to the nurses office and then they would check and call the parents/guardian... There is always that chance that it would be passed on from child to child just from the adult who is checking... I'm really not sure how they do it...
1 person likes this
• Canada
18 Sep 08
Very nicely said , Thank you for your response .
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
12 Mar 09
Yes, I do think that the school should check because you just can't count on all the parents to do that, even tho they should. IF the school did not do random checks then it could turn into an epidemic pretty quickly. Odds are that the person checking is not going to be one to spread the lice to your child. It is usually the school nurse who does the checking and she will have a cap on and wear gloves. I went up to the school years ago to help check as there was such an outbreak. I used gloves and had my hair pulled up under a cap.
1 person likes this
@Jtyree (7)
• United States
6 Apr 09
Checking my child for lice is my responsibility as a parent. However, many parents do not take the time or the responsibility to check there children. For this reason, I believe that schools do have the right to check students for head lice. I believe all students should be checked on a regular basis, especially in elementary school. I also believe this should be done by the school nurse and not just a teacher and, especially not, another parent. The entire class should be checked and not just "certain children" in the class. The chance of someone passing lice from one student to the next would be very slim, if done properly.
@nvlusung (15)
• Saudi Arabia
12 Mar 09
They have the right to do this, it's their concern. I don't beleive that,of course they will take the proper method to check the lice
1 person likes this