Dear fellow mom,

We had an itchy little nuisance visit our house this week. I know they visited you recently too. As I told my kids – they got it from someone! I also know it was probably someone they were sitting real close to at school. Like touching heads close. I don’t know who you are, or which kid is yours. What I do know is that you didn’t tell the school or other parents to look for it when your kid had it. For that, I am disappointed in you.

I thought we moms had each others’ backs. Sure, I understand at some level. It’s icky. Just the mere thought of it makes people start scratching their heads. You don’t want your kid to be teased at school. You don’t want people to think you are dirty or gross or have your kid banned from future playdates. I have news for you mama: you are an adult, and your responsibility to let people know when your kid exposes another to lice trumps your feelings of embarrassment.

About ten minutes after finding my kid’s case, I emailed the school as well as the parents of all of my kids’ close friends. It was the email no one wants to send or receive. But it’s the email that had to be sent. And guess what? My kids’ friends’ parents were glad to receive it. I am sure they were just being nice while secretly thinking ewwwwwwww and psychosomatically scratching their own heads, but they all responded with sympathy and their own stories and tips, and were thankful that they knew so that they could check their kids’ heads. Knowledge is power my friend.

Not only did I let my kids’ teachers and friends know, but you know that notice that came out from the district today asking parents to check their children’s heads? Yeah, I asked for that to be sent out too. You know why I did that? Because while my kids are now completely lice and nit free, I did a little digging and found out about several other cases and I don’t want it passed back to my children. Don’t get me wrong – I like the nice fresh sheets we are all sleeping in, and the freshly vacuumed house. But I don’t really need a repeat of the 100 loads of laundry I’ve done this week. And besides, my kids are running out of Spongebob episodes to watch while I meticulously run that comb through their hair. If they run out, you are going to have to come entertain them while I nit-pick. Deal? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

You know what really gets me? I heard through the grapevine that there were a couple of cases as long as 5 weeks ago. So, it’s been getting passed from kid to kid for at least that long. Can you imagine – if you had just emailed and asked for the notice to go out, it’s quite possible that people would have checked their kids’ heads, treated them, and prevented a bunch of other families from going through it.

Guess what? When I find out who was kid zero, and I will find out… I will be just fine having my kids play with your kids. I am sure you’ve been diligently checking their heads, and that they are lice free. But you, my friend, will be uninvited to wine night. For you, I cannot trust.

Sincerely,

A tired nit-picking mama

P.S. A few tips for parents who might find this post on a search for lice treatments:

1. Breathe and calm down. It’s not a matter of if your kids get it, but when. I used to freak out at the thought of it, but after having our first (and hopefully last) cases of it behind us, I can say that the thought of it is way worse than the reality.

2. Don’t use that toxic stuff. They don’t work. The only thing that works is combing. I admit, I was going to fork out the big bucks to have someone else deal with it. I went to a local nit-picking salon, but they were overbooked and couldn’t fit us in. Instead, they sold me their kit and walked me through the process.

3. The best kits have an enzyme based solution that breaks down the nits, as well as an essential oil solution that coats the little critters to make them easy to comb out. After that sits, just comb comb comb!!!!! You will be surprised at how easy it is to eradicate if you follow the directions. And really follow the directions – you have to do repeat treatments on the days your product recommends. This is so that you can get any little ones after they hatch but before they can lay more eggs. If you even miss one nit, and don’t re-treat you will be in trouble.

4. Don’t freak out and bleach or fumigate your home. Bleach doesn’t do anything to them anyway. Once they are off the head, they die within 48 hours. So, by all means change the bedding, wash it on hot, and vacuum. Wash jackets and recently worn hats. Put stuffies aside for a few days, or wash them if kids need them to sleep. But you don’t need to buy new bedding, etc. That’s just silly.

5. Finally, and this is the most important… don’t let your kids pick up on how disgusted you are with the whole process of pulling dead bugs out of their hair. Remind them that they got it from somewhere, it’s as common as getting a cold, but easier to treat. My kids and I had great talks, and they were very calm through the whole process because I kept telling them it’s no big deal.