Yep our world is full of creepy little things. From snails, ants and puppy dog tails.

But, there is one little critter that no body wants to experience. However most of our children in foster care and adoption along with school age kids often find out all about the little critter I am referring to.

If you guessed LICE....then you are correct. The schools are on the look out for those little buggers.
They make your child's head itch. So if you see your child scratching you may want to check it out.

The old fables that only dirty kids have LICE is so wrong. Lice can attack any child. Even rich kids from very prominent homes. All they require is a hair folic al to attach to and a little skin to drink from. Then they will lay their tiny egg sacks close to the scalp and on the hair shaft.

You can see them with florescent light the best. They are tiny little bugs. They like to hide behind the ears and at the nap of the neck under the hair.
There are several ways you can get lice. Such as:

1.) Using someone else's hair brush that has lice.
2.) Wearing a friends hat or scarf.
3.) Sleeping on the same bedding with someone who has Lice.
4.) Borrowing a hair tie from someone else.

So if you do get the itchy little critters how do you get rid of them?

1.) You buy a lice shampoo and lice comb such as RID
2.) You wash all bedding and curtains.
3.) Bag up stuffed animals in plastic bags for 10 to 14 days.
4.) Put other items that can not be washed into the dryer on a high hot cycle.
5.) Comb out the hair after you have left the shampoo in for 10 minutes. Follow the rules on the box.
6.) Get the lice spray for your carpets and your furniture.
7.) Wash hats, scarf's and other hair items. In hot water if at all possible.
8.) If nothing seems to work and the critters keep infesting your child's hair. Retreat....
IF ALL ELSE FAILS THEN TRY MAYONAISE. Thats right make your child a salad head. Put a thick layer of mayo on their hair. Rub in. Cover with a plastic bag and let them sit like that and watch cartoons for about an hour. Then rinse it out.

The oil in the Mayo smothers the little critters to death. Remember again that you need to comb through the hair and detach any eggs. It may take a few weeks of being a salad head to over come the problem.
You just have to make sure all the eggs are out of the hair and none are left to hatch.

The little critters may drive you nuts trying to get rid of them. They may give you a moment or two of embarrassment. But they are a fact of life for school age kids. Just like mumps, chicken pox and the common cold. Even if you try to prevent them you sometimes still catch them.

Pony tails on kids with long hair and some hair spray can help your child to not get the little bugs.
Also tell them not to share hats and scarf's or brushes in school and out.

However if you do get them...don't worry to much. They can be gone just as fast as you catch them.
With the right advice and the proper action plan.