Our daughter started grade 1 in a brand new school this year. She used to attend daycare and school wayyyy on the south side because that's where we lived for a long time, but in the past few years we have moved 3 times and each time we get farther away from the south. We are now officially located in North Edmonton. So I thought this year would be a great time for a brand new start. She was really excited to be going to a brand new school "Just like Matilda!" she would proudly say as we would drive by her new school.
Anyways, this brand new school is classified as an "Inner City" school and I heard that it had major lice issues. My daughter has had lice twice. She had caught lice from family members (cousins) both times, so before I enrolled her, I called the school to ask if these rumors were true. They replied that lice is an issue at most schools and if lice is found, they will send a note home.
Well, in R's last school, there was not even 1 note sent home during the whole year. So I was suspicious immediately. I texted my sis-in-law because she has a million kids and is a lice expert. She said that since she started using tea tree oil in her kids shampoo she hasn't had to deal with lice alot anymore. She also said she does regular lice checks just to make sure if they do come home that it doesn't get out of control. So, with my mind at ease, I enrolled my R to this Inner City school.
So guess what was in her backpack the VERY FIRST DAY she came home from Grade 1? Yep. You guessed it. A note from her grade 1 teacher saying "Lice has been found in our class. Please check your child and read the brochure." Behind the note is a brochure all about lice and how to treat them.
By the time I read the note my little girl was already in bed sleeping, so I checked her head first thing in the morning. I was very relieved to see that she was lice free and I silently thanked my sis-in-law for telling me to buy shampoo with tea tree oil in it. I mixed a teaspoon of coconut oil and 5 drops of tea tree oil in my hands and spread it all over R's hair, and tied her hair up in a ponytail bun. She was quite impressed because she said she looked like a Pokemon Doctor....
I explained to her that "someone" in her class had lice and that if she hugged anyone today, those lice would jump right up into her hair and then she would have lice. She assured me that she would NOT hug anyone because she did not like lice in her hair. I also told her that if she saw someone scratching their head furiously, then to be careful because they were probably scratching lice. She seemed to understand.
She came home from school that evening lice free again! She told me very seriously that she did NOT hug anyone, and I praised her for that.
Again, this morning, I mixed up some coconut oil and tea tree oil and slathered it in her hair. I got to say, I hope this continues to work! I feel like I have beaten the lice epidemic single-handedly. I feel like I have conquered.
I'm comforted in knowing that even if I happen to find a lice on her now, I have the confidence to handle it right away. It will never get to an out of control situation where I'll feel like I have to quarantine my house (like the 1st time she got lice!). I feel a lot wiser and calmer about it. But hopefully those little buggers just stay away.
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