Girl I babysit has a lice problem, what should I do?

Have the school tell the mother.

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Just educate her and show her and talk to her mother to mother. She may not know. Remember it takes a village to raise these kids and make sure they’re taken care of. It’s not nasty to get it but it’s nasty to keep it. Good luck! :blush:

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How do you, your daughters, and everyone at school not have it as well?

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Just clean here hair everytime she come over and buy her mum some stuff…if your worried about making her feel bad just lie say you found a couple on your girl and your worried she’s passed them on…

There isn’t really a nice way to say it, direct is best.

It’s also important to remember if you know she has them, mom does too. She’s either unable or unwilling to fully take care of it. If you have capacity to help I am sure the little girl would appreciate getting them cleared.

I would personally treat her hair and tell her mom to make sure she washes bedding etc. use a good amount of Mayo cover her head leave it on with a shower cap over it and let it sit for a couple hours and should get rid of it. Be a adult about the situation it’s lice for goodness sake’s not like she’s purposely leaving her daughter with lice. She is unaware she’s got it so how can she rectify it if she doesn’t have a clue!

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School should be notified as well. A child. In room x has lice. It’s contagious a

I don’t use lice chemicals on my girls hair. Every time they’ve gotten it, I wash with loads of conditioner, comb through with a lice comb, and blow dry their hair. Lice don’t tolerate the heat well. Maybe try that a few times for the poor baby. They can’t help getting it, but I’m sure she’ll appreciate the memory of you not treating her like a piranha, if you help her try to get rid of it.

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It’s the responsibility of the parents to make sure they’re not spreading it to others

rubbing alcohol 70% use in well ventolated area or outdoors, drench hair leave five minutes rinse thoroughly. Must wash all bedding and vacuum the whole house, spray anything like furniture, carpet and beds with bug spray. Everyone in the house must be treated or won’t work.

Tell her just that, if she gets offended that’s her problem not yours. SN: you could get rid of lice with tee tree oil in the hair and also peppermint oil

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It’s hard to break news to some people. But you should start out by telling her what you’ve noticed. Ask her to do her hair and you will begin your services after they have been treated. If she does and it keep happening, you’re going to have to be stern and put your foot down.

Lice hate Rosemary essential oil and tea tree oil. Can find good mixture recipes online to spray or add into shampoos and conditioner…the right thing to do is tell the mother…this happens to even the cleanest of people.

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Your kids come frist you have a responsibility to them

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A combination of the highest percent alcohol. Teatree oil and conditioner. Leave on 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse and comb. Then there’s a shampoo at Walmart that has teatree oil in it. Get that for your girls… lice don’t like teatree oil.
Just tell the mom straight out, give her this cheep effective method to use … then offer to help her do hers and the child hair. Most moms won’t be angry. A bit embarrassed maybe…

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This is a health issue that can infest others quickly so she needs to be vigilant about her homecare as well as her daughter. Tell her you can’t keep her daughter until she is completely clear of infestation.

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Just tell her - I am surprised she is even in school - most kids with lice are sent home. Do not babysit her until she is lice-free.

Just tell her straight up! Might not be what she wants to hear but you have your own kids to worry about! My son had lice in kindergarten from another student at school, his hair is long and thick( almost to his butt) and it was a damn nightmare!! I don’t wish that on any child :cry:

Also tell her good luck finding any RID or other lice medications that have Ivermectin in them.

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If you want to be subtle, just say you are treating your girls, does she mind if you do hers at the same time.

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By literally telling her “I can no longer watch your child, as much as i love to watch her i just can’t risk my own children getting lice” simple to the point.

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Oh no!!! I would go crazy… I can’t even think about my girls having lice!! I remember that I woke up one time with a spider walking all over my head, that was terrifying!! So I can’t even think about how lices feel!

Just tell her. I went through this with my kiddo. She has a ton of hair and it is curly. I tried EVERYTHING. I saw somewhere to use mayonnaise. I did. It worked the best and she never had it again.

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Girl I babysit has a lice problem, what should I do? - Mamas Uncut

Be a grown up and tell the other parent the truth. “There’s no easy way to say this but I’ve noticed little so and so has lice, I’m not sure if you are aware or not but wanted to let you know. You can get lice shampoo at the chemist/drugstore, and repellant spray to use after to make sure they dont come back. Unfortunately I wont be able to sit for you until you’ve treated her hair as lice spread rapidly and I can’t risk an outbreak amongst the other children”

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Be blunt. I would just come out an say what needs to be said. I can’t put my household at risk cause it not under control. Might be a wake up call the mother needs?! :woman_shrugging:t2::woman_shrugging:t2:

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Just tell the parent. I’ve babysat a child before and he had lice, I rang his mum straight away and combed his head out with conditioner so that there was less chance of my child getting them, after obtaining permission from his mum of course.

If your close enough to sit her kid then your close enough to tell her her kid has lice and that you wouldnt be able to sit her kid anymore as a mum of three and not able to check as often as I’d like I’d be mortified if someone knew my child had nits and didnt say becuase they didnt want to offend just be nice about it and I’m sure it will be fine xx

Offer some help with it if the mother is struggling. If I were the mother I would want to know it was an issue and just the offer of help would be really sweet :slight_smile:

Could just say you found some lice in your girls hair and ask if she wants you to check her daughters or check herself :slightly_smiling_face: x no need to point blame etc x

Be honest, because as careful as you are at home - they will spread at school and get your girls. X

I would also mention it to the school as they can send out a letter/text/email to ALL parents to check their child’s hair and treat any issues before there is a schoolwide breakout of lice. Schools will not allow a child with lice back in class until it has been treated!

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If you want to be polite, just say youve noticed a few in your kids hair so she may wanna check hers, or just something like youve noticed she’s scratching her head x

Tell the mam.

Lice in children are as common as fleas on strays. No need to judge just be honest and support :woman_shrugging:

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When it comes to the health and well being of a child I think just being open and just tell the parent

Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Girl I babysit has a lice problem, what should I do? - Mamas Uncut

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As a mother , I would be great full for someone to mention if I didn’t know!!
Hi hun, just to let you know Iv spotted headlice in …’s hair. She will need treated. Happens to the best of us. Let me know when you have it sorted and il be happy to help you out again. :heartpulse:

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Help a momma out… it’s simple. Grab a bottle of cheap mayo… coat the hair well and let it sit in the little girls hair wrap the head in plastic of some sort … Saran Wrap or even a plastic bag from grocery store… let sit for a good while and then wash out and comb the hair out. It will suffocate the lice. And also is a good conditioner lol

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I’d just tell the mom. That she can’t come back until the lice problem is taken care of.

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Girl your kids come first just say it out loud!!! Sheesh

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Just how you said it…'i apologize if you know this already but your little girl has lice and before I can continue watching her I need to know that the problem has been taken care of. I’m so very sorry for this inconvenience"
Honesty w/humbleness is the best policy

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Just be honest and upfront. Think of how that poor kid is suffering. Maybe offer to help.

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Most schools have a knit free policy so she shouldn’t be at school to begin with

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Omg horrible. As a mom who dealt with this with my 3 girls, that’s a hard no. One got it from school, we think, hard to say really, I got it as well. We had to get a prescription from the doctor before we got rid of them for good. It’s not being rude but lice will go all over your house, if she’s been there it’s possibly already started.

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Just like a school would. You can not come to school with lice you get sent home…

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Just be honest, but watch your tone when you say it I would suggest. You wouldn’t want to sound judge or anything but let the mother know that unfortunately you’re not willing to take the risk of your own children getting lice so until they can sort out hers, then she won’t be able to come over anymore. I feel like stuff like this can’t be danced around, it has to be blunt but carefully worded

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You could mention to the mom that you noticed it and have some remedies to suggest. I would also suggest they do a treatment inside the home. I’m sure they are embarrassed.

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Just tell her upfront that you aren’t able to watch her daughter until the lice is taken care of that you can’t take the risk of your family getting it if she gets mad oh well I’d never

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Hugs. You can hairspray her hair.
In braids. If she’s been in your car make sure you vacuum it out. Car seats are a big thing a lot of people miss. And stuffies.
Hugs. This sucks

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when I got lice from school my mom didnt know the first few days until my babysitter realized and checked my head my mom was thankful she told her before it got way worse.

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Definitely talk to her because I saw on the news a couple months ago two little girls almost died because their mother didn’t do anything about their headlice. To almost die from that imagine how many she must have had and how uncomfortable she must have been. :frowning:

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Offer to help her I had this situation and the other mom got really upset till I said I’m not trying to be mean I wanna help you I’m a friend

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I’m sorry but I cannot watch ur daughter until she is 100% lice free. What more do u need to say?

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I dont understand being afraid to offend someone. Kids these days. :roll_eyes: Your offering a service, the kid can’t come back until its taken care of. If its a chronic problem cyfd needs to check those living conditions.

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Honesty! Tell her & if she gets mad oh well! Your kids come first!

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Tell her?
Also invest in tea tree oil, and advise her to do the same. You can get the straight bottle of essential oil or get it pre mixed into shampoo and conditioner. I highly recommend renpure brand. 10/10, prevented ticks as well.

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Treat the lice and tell her mother! I would not even be offended if someone took the steps to help me out.

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I would let her know it’s just like if she was in a daycare facility, she must be knit free/ lice free to be in the home.

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Personally, I’d go purchase a few lice kits and let momma know then ask if she needed any help getting rid of it. Then go help her wash everything. It takes a village unfortunately nowadays people have to ask what they should do in these situations. Offer help that’s a start.

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I think you can kindly let her know that similar to all daycares you’ll have to ask that she return once the lice problem has been taken care of and you’ll happily watch her again. No worries, just handle with kindness and matter of fact.

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Tea tree oil in a spray bottle with water! But I would certainly let mom know that it has to get taken care of. You don’t have to be mean or anything. I’m sure she will understand.

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Just do it. My daughter got it from the neighbors kid for the 1st time a couple months ago and it was a nightmare for us. I went over and I told the aunt that takes care if her.

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Let her know about the issue. Just watch how you phrase it. Is this something that maybe she is aware of but doesn’t have the $ to treat it? Good home remedy - tea tree oil. Put few drops in conditioner, saturate the hair and let set for a bit. Also add drops to shampoo and conditioner as a natural deterrent

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My moms friend used to babysit when I was a kid and she had this exactly issue with one little girl. It got to the point she would check her head on the front porch daily. And if there was even eggs in her hair, she had to take her home. With something like this you have to be firm.

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I hate to be the only one to say this but I feel like the mom knows. I know someone who had to get custody of his child for her not to have lice anymore. Every weekend he got her from her moms she had lice it went on for 4 years. Telll the mom the child can’t come back until she doesn’t have lice or eggs.

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I’d start putting about 10 drops of tea tree oil in your shampoo as a small layer of protection. I’d have a hard time having that conversation with her parent too but it’s definitely necessary.

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Girl. The mom probably knows, she’s just not doing everything she can to get rid of them. I deal with the same thing. Im dealing with the same thing myself. I wasn’t rude but its her place to take care of the problem

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Just like that. Don’t sugar coat. “Look, I love watching the kids but until this lice issue is handled, they can’t come back over.”

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Oh god. My daughter got it twice because her bestfriend had lice at school. I called the school and they checked the kid, told the mom and said she can’t come back till it’s taken care of. Then they checked her when she got back

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You have to tell her!!!
Tell her that you heard that lice was going around the school so you checked all the girls after school and you noticed her daughter has lice. The last thing you want to deal with is lice in your home. Just tell her that you really need to be careful so your daughters don’t get it so you would like to give some time for her to treat it before you start watching her again. It can be very hard to get rid of lice if every single eggs isn’t removed from scalp/hair. Maybe suggest one of the places that does it for her, it’s guaranteed.

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Be straight up. I had to tell my sister I couldn’t watch my niece for this fact. And I even told her I would help her get rid of the lice. She didn’t know how. So I showed her how.

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Do it yourself, that may sound crazy but if the mother won’t do it someone needs to take care of the child instead of letting her suffer, it will only get worse. Poor child😕. Some schools will end up calling child services after so many notices are sent.

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The mom is unaware? I’d tell her that the kid has lice and make some suggestions. I treated my kids with coconut oil n tree tree oil and would blow dry their hair before picking them out with a lice comb. Then dry everything in the house.

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just explain to her what you stated here. it’s just to much of a risk and you’d gladly still watch her as long as they solved the problem. you gotta.look after yours too mama!

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I would say when y’all have a moment together u and the mom,let her know and ask her if she’d like some help cleaning her hair out, that way everyone’s clean and no longer in any discomfort…Ive done it a couple times for others none were mad or anything jus happy to be helped but I did have them clean their own house and linens…so as not to catch them again and have them buy some tea tree oil to put in shampoo to keep lice away,natural repellent

First I would be freaking out and probably have them come get the kid ASAP then I would be going and cleaning everything and just tell her it needs to be gone before she could come back bc sometimes that’s really hard to get rid of and can get expensive!

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When I worked in child care, we did lice checks before they could come into the rooms. Idk if that’s possible for you to do a lice check before she comes into your home or not. Either way the best option is to just be upfront with her and tell her that she can’t come over until it’s in the clear

Honestly if it keeps happening, it’s probably because she’s not properly removing the lice. If it were me, I’d just remove the lice myself. Poor girl, that sounds miserable and I couldn’t just leave her like that knowing her mother isn’t correctly doing it.

Let her know nicely, and recommend an oil for her hair. (Lice likes clean hair as it’s easier to cling to and climb through so using oil like coconut/virgin olive oil in the hair helps keep them away along with tea tree oil) also you may have to explain what it is (might seem weird however my mother didn’t know what it was until my brother got it as a kid from kindergarten and my neighbor had to teach her what it was and how to treat it.

I would literally just say what was said in the last 2 sentences. If mom gets nasty then she’s toxic. Lol dont have to say it rude. But literally “hey! So ive noticed your DD has lice. And I feel bad but unfortunately I cant continue watching her until I know its taken care of as I dont want it to spread or start bouncing from yours to mine. Lmk when everything’s good and I’ll he happy to watch her again!”

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I’d say hey girl hey :wave: your lil girl has critters swimming in her hair follicles on a lot of occasions. Let’s terminate these lice critters before they spread like wildfire sweetie !

Some parents don’t care. I know a mom that’s a nurse and her 3 children have lice regularly and she couldn’t care less and gets upset when their daycare provider makes mom come pick them up because they are infested yet again.

I definitely would talk to the mom and let her know that it’s a problem. I hope that you’ll be kinder and more sympathetic than some of these answers though.

Be honest my granddaughter got them from daycare and being a grandma I couldn’t see the eggs. Paid someone 25.00 to clean her hair. Cost me 200.00 before it was all said and done. Keep tea tree oil in your child’s hair it really works as a deterrent

Be gentle and say I’ve noticed her scratching and I think she may have lice. If that doesn’t make her do her hair then bluntly tell her.
If it was me I’d treat the kid myself but that’s not for everyone I guess

you will just have to tell her…there really is no way to beat around the bush with that. Just tell her that as much as you live to keep her daughter, you will not be able to until she has treated her for head lice and it stops recurring. The mother may have even treated her, but if she does not treat everything at home then it does no good

Just nicely say, on several occasions I’ve noticed your daughter has had lice. Because they spread so quickly, and could result in lost time from work or school, I can’t watch daughter until I know she is lice free. Be prepared to offer suggestions if tge reply is something like, I just can’t get rid of tgem.

I personally wouldn’t do anything to child as far as treatment simply bc it’s not your child and mom COULD take legal action against you out of pettyness. Just tell mom “hey I’m not sure if you are aware but they have lice and I’m sorry but I can’t keep them until it’s resolved.” Also KEEP YOUR HAIR dirty and with hairspray or dry shampoo in it. People thing dirty people get lice but in all honesty lice only like clean hair/scalps😬

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Oy I’ve always had that problem with my x kids too not once but twice in one month. Then my kid gets it. Boy I was pissed. But of course I had to do it myself since no one was gonna do it… I went thru all 3 kids heads. Ugh. Well now i don’t gotta worry about it anymore just my own kids.

I’d be honest n get to the bottom of it. Its not ashamed to deal with but it sucks yes. But it need to be resolved and ur daycare or house need clean thru out as much as the child house too.
I buy lice spray, at dollar general and its so much easier to work with and buy tea tree shampoo n conditioner and have the child wash hair for few days and it will be gone before you know it! And be sure to hot water boil hair brushes for 10 min. Lice spray areas on couch n beddings. Then voila!

You just have to go right out and say it. Its a nightmare to get rid of . My daughter kept coming home from school with it after I treated everything in household . She had to end up sleeping on floor in living room . I eventually had to even cut her hair. Its not worth it . You have to tell her

I would just simply tell her. And also let her know you don’t think she’s gross because it happens when a lot of kids are around each other :woman_shrugging: so many people are afraid of that. Our entire elementary school had to shut down one year because it was so bad. Didn’t matter who was being treated or what we did at home…they all shared a coat closet.

Tell her and suggest for her to treat with ivermectin mixed in oil based carrier. My grandson got lice within the first week back to school. Its a 14 day process to treat. We finally got them out after treatment 1 and treatment 2 on the 14th day.
To get lice is one thing, to not treat is hard on the little girl. She will get sores on her scalp. Thats when the scalp can become infected. Her mom needs to know any of your concerns. You are the caretaker.

Yes, having lice has nothing to do with hygiene, lice actually want clean hair, they won’t attach to dirty hair, you can give her some pointers, tell her that she should put hair product in her girls’ hair and put it up in a bun or pony tail. Schools will not allow a child with lice, they spread so quickly, so you shouldn’t have to worry about having to watch her until her mom gets it under control, just tell her politely!!

I’d be appreciative if a mum told me my daughter had lice and I didn’t know, but if I did know I would treat it myself and wouldn’t send to daycare/school untill 100% confident I had the hair clean. I’ve 2 daughters and one brought lice home… was an absolute nightmare to clear her head, strip every bed, replace all bedding, hair brushes and accessories, then a mountain of teddy’s they’d have fell asleep with. And now I spray them with lice repellent every morning so they can’t be caught and again… so far it’s worked

Let her know that unfortunately she needs to rid the lice from her home and her child before you can watch her again. You can try again after 2 weeks as long as she has and the home proper treatments.

I do their hair myself. Literally just went through this this past weekend. I be like hey found some lice doing all the kids heads. Did your kid too hope that’s okay. Good looking out.

You have to beFrank. Listen, your daughter has lice and I love her and keeping her, but you have to handle this beforei can keep her again. If you don’t just be blunt, you will have it in your home. Protect your family. Not just other folks feelings. Why should your kids go through this if you know?

I don’t think there is a nice way. Just be honest and I’m sure she can handle it.

Mix green tea with your shampoo and you won’t get it. Everyone in my house would be infected and I never was because I put green tea in my shampoo. I also sprayed my room with peppermint and tea to keep them out.

I would definitely tell her. Only thing that helped my little cousin is dyeing her hair and we tried so many other things that have been mentioned. Get dye that is closest to natural color. I sat outside for 3 hours in the sun picking it all out and everything was dead. Took care of the problem. Or there are professionals that do it.