Parents Campaign Launches To Beat School Bug Bullies!

[Ravenfire]

A new campaign aimed at UK parents launches today to limit head lice outbreaks by making monitoring for bugs as much a part of family life as the weekly shop. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of being vigilant and taking swift action when dealing with these bug bullies. The biggest problem associated with managing head lice is that parents aren’t checking their children and taking action regularly enough which means head lice keep coming back. 1 in 2 parents check for head lice once a month or less with, worryingly, 1 in 10 parents taking a peek just once a year! When questioned as to why they didn’t check more frequently a recent survey showed*:

46% of parents didn’t understand the need to check regularly
33% didn’t know what to look for
Almost 1 in 4 thought the school were checking for them
And worryingly 1 in 10 people would currently like to fine parents whose children repeatedly suffer from head lice! Commenting on her involvement in the ‘Once a Week, Take a Peek’ campaign Philippa Forrester said: “I’ve got three boys and I know that head lice are a frustrating part of school life but early identification means the problem can be dealt with quickly and spreading can be kept to an absolute minimum.”

“Having head lice is nothing to be embarrassed about - 1 in 7 children have head lice at any one time as they are easily passed between people who spend a lot of time in close proximity,” said Christine Brown Nursing Advisor to the Medical Entomology Centre. She continued: “The best way to stop infestation is for families to check for head lice on a regular basis and then to use a treatment that head lice can’t build up a resistance to if any are found.”

Go to www.onceaweektakeapeek.com (http://www.onceaweektakeapeek.com/) fur full information on how to check, treat and manage head lice – you can even download a free family guide full of useful tips and tricks.

[Sarah]

I can't understand how any parent wouldn't know if their kids have head lice! I guess it's easy for me to spot with mine all being fair but if they have dark or thick hair it's imperative that they are checked regularly. It's often the same children though as the parents just don't care. I know someone who's daughter had them for years because they just weren't bothered :no:

[Lemon]

We have a child at school who is riddled with them - it makes you feel quite ill and very very sorry for her. If ALL the mothers dealt with their children but this one child isn't dealt with then the problem will not go away - it just takes the one child that is not looked after properly to keep it a problem in the school.

[Tinkabell]

I check the girls hair twice a week, but unfortunately there are a lot of parents at the school that the girls attend that never check.

We have had bug busting lessons for parents, been given nit combs but it still seems to continue.

I once spoke to the head teacher about it as there was a child who had them crawling through her hair you could see them when she was near you. I was told they have tried and tried with this parent and others and the response is "I know" or "my child does not have nits"

[marlis511]

i check both my daughters hair every night because their school is terrible for it and there are a few children in my dd1 class who get sent home at least twice a fortnight because live lice have been seen

[smirnoff]

i taught a child who was so covered in them that you could see them crawling over her, her clothes etc... yuk.. her parents refused to treat them as it was "against her human rights for the school to insist"......

[*debbie*]

bring back the nit nurse i say...cos some parents either dont know what to look for or dont bother looking at all
At least if they were checked once a term, it may keep down the infections of them.
Luckily so far only my ds1 has had them once in his school life and he is 14...i run the nit come through ds2's hair everytime i wash it.
""cutey""b