Stay-at-home mom blog

We noticed my four year-old had head lice last week. Gross! I tell you, feeling creeped out by your own kid’s head makes you feel like a lousy parent. I cried while combing her hair out because I felt like I had no one else to blame. She missed two days of school last week so I could pick out all the damn things on her scalp.

She fussed the whole time I washed her hair. She sobbed while I combed her hair with the fine tooth comb. I felt so bad for her.

She went back to school the following Monday.  She was at school for one hour when the school nurse’s assistant called to tell me I needed to pick her up. I was furious! The pediatrician had told me that she was fine as long as there were no nits within a quarter of an inch on the scalp. This nurse’s assistant argued with me that the school district had a no nit policy. I steamed the whole way to her school and back home.

I had to take her to the pediatrician for another matter that night. While we were there, I had him write her a note to let her back into school. You see, once the said nits are more than a quarter of an inch away from the scalp, they are either dead or empty. Head lice need to be at the scalp where they get food to survive.

I took her back to school the next day. The real nurse was there and had no problem with the doctor’s note. I took her to class and talked to the teacher. I understood her concern from the day before. This is a preschool class and it is wide believed that head lice is spread easiest among the little ones. Not true, but its hard to re-educate old wives tales. The teacher was fine with it once I explained what the doctor had said.

That was a Tuesday, she doesn’t have school on Wednesdays, I sent her into school on Thursday. Guess who calls about thirty minutes after school started?  The nurse’s assistant. I think she went looking for my kid! I told her that the nurse had signed her back into school on Tuesday. Oh boy, did she get her panties in a bunch. Oh well.