New Lice Guideline Has Some Parents Scratching Their Heads

Being a mom of three children that attend public schools, one of my greatest fears is getting that dreaded letter from the school notifying me that one of their classmates has lice.  It always seems like such a big deal. The infected child is sent home for days while they are treated, and the class has to go through head checks.  And if you’re like me, you keep checking and checking and checking… However, those days may be gone now.

A new lice policy was released on Monday by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and it has some parents raising eyebrows.

“Most cases of head lice are acquired outside of school”, says the announcement. “The AAP continues to recommend that a healthy child should not be restricted from attending school because of head lice or nits (eggs). Pediatricians are encouraged to educate schools and communities that no-nit policies are unjust and should be abandoned. Children can finish the school day, be treated and return to school.”

These new recommendations are based on a clinical report published in the “Journal of Pediatrics,” which discovered that only one third of children with five or more nits actually developed an active infestation, and that taking those children out of school would have been unnecessary. “In addition, head lice infestations have been shown to have low contagion in classrooms,” says the report. The report also confirms that lice do not hop or jump from head to head, as some parents are led to believe.

As long as children with lice don’t share hats, combs, or touch heads with their peers, it appears there is no need to keep them out of the classroom.  This may be a relief to some parents who can’t take time off of work when events like this take place.

What are your thoughts?  Would you allow your child with lice to stay in the classroom?  Are you comfortable with lice infested kids in the classroom?