Originally Posted by
Codie101 
That is just horrible!!! I know here in the US if kids have lice they are immediately sent home and are not allowed back until there are no lice! The poor girl. At that age she must get bullied terribly about it. Frankly it is not just the fact that she is living with an alcoholic, but the fact that she has been neglected. I can only imagine what's going on with the 7 yr old. Here she could be charged with neglect. I posted on your thread about your situation. I hope that helps.
In junior school (4-11) headlice are rife. It's a BIG problem, ever since they got rid of the 'nit nurses' (mind you that was back in the 80's!). Schools often send out 'Bug Busting Day' notifications to parents, asking all parents to check their child's hair on the same day and treat accordingly. But, all it takes is a few not to bother and the problem doesn't go away. I am not a nit snob, my own kids had them at school, but only ever for a day or so because they were always treated as soon as the little blighters were discovered. At senior school it isn't usually a problem, and we do know that at my stepdaughters school they have a no headlice policy, and if any child is discovered with headlice they are sent home and a warning letter is sent to the parent. When we told the school my stepdaughter had lice, we felt awful doing so because it meant she could be sent home, but on the other hand we hoped that the embarassment suffered could be the kick up the proverbial her mother needed to finally, after 8 years, get to grips with the lice. Tough love we thought, but it hasn't worked. We have combed out literally hundreds in one go in the past, and they've even been left in the bath water after a hair wash she's had that many. Goodness knows how her mother doesn't catch them, but the little boy has a shaved head - I wonder why. It makes my blood boil, it really does, because it's something that's so easily dealt with. All it takes is time and effort, regularly. It seems even that is too much.