Oh, lice, you rascally little good-for-nothing louse gangs. I hate you. And as far as I can tell, you come uninvited just about whenever you feel like it — which is always when it's most inconvenient. You don't call, you don't knock, you just let yourself in and set up nit nests around my kids' ears and in that soft, soft dip in the precious little napes of their necks.
Oh, how I wish I could prevent you.
There are some lice prevention methods out there, mind you. Some of these tips might give you some peace of mind and some more radical, surefire methods of keeping lice away might make you lose your mind. In other words, may the anti-lice force be with you.
7 Lice Prevention Tips That Might Help a Little
These are techniques that many parents swear by and if you've ever had lice in your house, you'll try any and all things to prevent them from coming back.
- Teach your child to say hello without rubbing her head on other kids or their personal belongings (but don't be surprised when she promptly forgets).
- Show him ways to play and relax that don't involve rolling his head all over the carpet and random pieces of upholstered furniture.
- Avoid prompting kids' activities that include head-to-head contact — sharing books, coloring books, or handheld video games.
- Use shampoos that contain coconut oil, olive oil, tea tree oil, peppermint, eucalyptus oil, lavender oil, or rosemary oil. Some are said to kill lice; others deter them with their scent.
- Have your child put sweatshirts, sweaters, and jackets inside their backpacks at school rather than hang them side by side with other kids' items.
- Buy every person in your house their own comb or brush; no sharing towels or hats — this will prevent the spread if one person gets it.
- Pray — even if you don't pray — pray.
8 Radical Lice Prevention Tips
If you're agro about lice prevention, here are a few radical things you can try. Of course, this is a process; you must do all of these things if you want 100% lice protection. Warning: Not for the faint of heart.
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Spray your kids' head with a mix of tea tree oil (10 drops or so) and water (about two ounces) every … single … day.
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Hire the Lice Lady to come over right after camp or any other infectious outing (sleepovers, school plays with shared costumes, wrestling matches, hugfests) to provide lice treatment, whether or not they have lice.
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Keep your kid's hair dirty if it makes you feel better, but lice like all heads, clean or dirty.
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Tell your kid if she touches heads with another kid, shares a brush or a barrette, you'll have to shave off all her hair.
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Let your kids know that if they borrow or try on another kid's hat or sweatshirt, it's grounds for emancipation — yours!
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Handcraft plastic ski caps for your kids to wear every day.
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Don't let your kids play with other kids. In fact, never let your kids out of the house. Homeschool and quit your job.
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Build a plastic bubble for your child. Don't let him or her come out. There's lice out here!
No problem, right?
All joking aside, folks, do you have any lice prevention secrets?
Image via Eran Finkle/Flickr
