everytime we get my step kids they are infested with lice. what should i do i am constantly treating them?

Question

we have the kids two weeks on two weeks off it takes three days to get the whole house and kids free of lice . when the two weeks ids up we send them back and when they return they have it again what can i do should i call c.p.s on their mother for neglecting the problem?

Answer 1

I would definitely tell CPS your concerns. You could tell the mom that if the kids have bugs in their hair anymore you're going to report her. Or just call CPS.

Answer 2

Well apparently the mother is not doing what needs to be done at home. The kids' dad should tell her that she needs to completely fumigate the house. Washing all sheets and blankets with very hot water and in the mean time vacuuming all carpets and spraying down all bedding including couches and chairs with lice spray. If she can do it on a weekend when you guys have the kids then they will be leaving your house lice free and should be going to a home that has been made lice free. Once they go make sure you do the same at your house. The best stuff I have found for treatment and preventative is called Lice Off. It is made of all natural oils. No pestisides. It's at liceoff.com. It has a funky smell but it's better then haven it. I use to keep a spray bottle full mixed with water and would spritz my girls hair everyday before school. It's been 3 almost 4 years of being lice free. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Before you do the call, try to break the cycle if you can. While it's possible their mother is just a thoughtless, neglectful woman, she may also just not know how or have the resources to attack it. Maybe some family member could help her get rid of the lice in her house, help wash all the linens, maybe set off a bug bomb,etc.

If that just won't work, I hate to say this, but YOU shouldn't be the one who calls CPS. Have their father make the call or it could get really weird. Also, keep in mind that if they are taken out of her custody they'll have to live somewhere - it could be that they end up at your house. Would that work out? While I'm sure you care for the kids, you may end up jumping from the frying pan into the fire....

Answer 4

Head lice are VERY COMMON in Florida and my kids went through it when they were young. Actually, a doctor told me once that if your hair is clean, you are more apt to get them because they can latch onto the hair easily. It is not about being dirty (besides kids DO get dirty and that's ok). The problem with the lice could be maybe they are going back to their mom's (and they had them there) and she didn't clean everything properly. Sheets, pillowcases, EVERYTHING needs to be taken care of. It is a BIG JOB but if they went back home and they went to bed and nits were on the pillowcase - then they come back. It's a horrible problem. Don't forget, the parents can get them too. I would treat myself and the child (along with the entire house) any time this happened with the kids. In Florida we'd have continuous notices of "lice alerts" so people would be on the watch for them. Many kids would be infested during this time period. People don't know about lice unless they've learned about them. I took the time to learn about it. They'll be ok.

Answer 5

In the first place kids can get lice from school or daycare...in the second place shouldnt this be between your spouse and the other parent? apparently if you have the kids every two weeks you are a part of the problem I think lice treatments are suposed to be redone after two weeks....If you have them half the time and are doing treatments every two weeks they shouldnt have them...lice eggs rehatch two weeks after a treatment...I would suggest you speak with your spouse and have him speak with the other parent and see what can be done but i definitely think you should check with him before calling cps..because you will be putting yourself under investigation and they are his kids

Answer 6

see if you can' t keep the kids permanantly - every time you send them back they get reinfested because their mother is not ridding all the upholstery, carpeting, bedding etc. of lice and nits. It is a form of neglect and it is an unhealthy living environment for your kids - they have parasites 2 weeks on and two weeks off.

Answer 7

I would take it over with their mother first - she may not be aware of the problem...If she is and is neglecting it then you might want to see if there is something you can do to get her to see how serious this is and if that doesn't work then call cps on her (try to use that as a last resort). The children have to be looked after and I'm proud that you are doing that - they can't defend themselves and need all the help they can get! ;)

Answer 8

Call the school and have the nurse check their heads the two weeks you don't have them and tell her you believe they have lice which means she'll have to take care of it or the kids won't be allowed back in school.

Answer 9

Aloha Mel,
Let me tell you from experience that I hear your frustration! My own children kept getting uku's (head lice). I found kerosene to work best for complete removal. My pediatrician said, "NO, Never use that! they could get blood poisoning." I was so upset because that was the only thing I found to work effectively. In the newspaper here, they had an article about "Super Uku" in other words, lice were becoming tolerant to the typical pesticides found in the pharmacy. It does take at least two full days to clean your house effectively. things that can not be washed in hot water or dried at high temps. should be kept in airtight containers for at least two weeks. (Lice need human blood)

I cut my girls hair, bought new matress, stored stuffed animals, all making sure no bugs could survive in our house. I shortly figured out I had to clean areas they frequented and unfortunately, I couldn't "trust" that they had correctly cleaned the school, friends homes, etc. The choice had to be made, I had to be the one to clean the class. Maybe you might want to offer to go to your step kids mom's house to help clean it. If that seems too weird or you don't have that kind of relationship with her, you might want to try to educate the kids. They must hate this embarrasing process as much as you! I taught my girls about braiding their hair, no sharing brushes etc. not even woth each other. they slept seperately and took their pillow cases off every mnorning and put it straight in the dryer to ensure eggs died. I wouldn't do the CPS thing for several reasons. 1) CPS is a proven inneffective organization. They take kids away first and ask questions later. They might even put the kids in foster care for a little while where there inevitably may have lice.
2) I have always found it true, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. No matter how ignorant the kids biological mom is, it is their mom. I am sure they love her. Try working all together maybe come up with plans like if you go to pick them up and they have the lice, they stay an extra night and SHE clean their heads. Although I don't promote threats, you may want to explain how serious this problem is to you and to the school. the fact is, the teacher may have to call CPS herself. Also something to consider is the amount of school the kids are missing. this could effect there moving up a grade or being held back. 3) Lice are more gross to us as adults because they remind us of dirty, greasy haired, bums, that don't bathe. I have found out quite the contrary. Lice prefer clean heads. ( Lice eggs don't stick well to greasy hair. ) They love clean hair!!
I have found what I call the no chemical solution to Lice. For about 15 bucks, you can buy a Licemeister. It is a comb that actually works. The blue ones that come in the Rid boxes suck!!! This metal comb with yellow handle takes out eggs, bugs, everthing. I added it to my children's routines. Before they enter my house after school, the sit in the garage and comb. If they even find one tiny dead egg, they call mom and I complete the combing. if not they continue with their chores. At night right after bathing and brushing teeth, they do the sam. run the comb through. They also do it in the am like putting on school clothes. This really helped me figure out where the bugs were coming from. Wether in my house or from school, or even from a cousins/friends house. At first I thought people were going to think I was the weird mom on the block for being so anal about checking head lice but actually, mom's said they feel so relieved about allowing their kids over for a visit or play date because of the non-judgemental way I protect my house and children from reinfestation. Truth be told, I can't afford to clean that way every two weeks, I just can't! I hope this has helped and I have so many Uku stories we could chat for hours!!! Let me know if you have any specific questions I could help answer. I have researched (trial and error mostly) all the home remedies and over the counter remidies around. I have tried them all!!Baby oil, mayonaisse, kerosene, gasoline, crisco oil, and more!! Have a great day and keep smiling! You did nothing wrong. You aren't bad parents cuz your kid the bug. Aloha and A hui hou!!

Answer 10

I would say yes, there are steps that need to be taken and obviously she is not taking those steps. She must have a investation at her house, and she has not been taking care of that. Once is something that will just happen, but more than that, is neglect.

Answer 11

Call child services for neglect and contact the school to get them invlolved in pressuring the mom to treat her home as well, the more pressure she has from different agencies I think the better chances of her acutally doing something about it.