Is it fair for my to refuse to mind my 4 yr old god daughter till her mother sorts out the headlice?

Question

I know lice are a common problem these days but my friend makes no attempt to deal with it. I've just had her for a week while my friend went on holiday, the poor kid turned up here with a suitcase full of S****y unwashed clothes and was scratching her head like crazy. I had look and her hair was crawling. Predictably by the end of the week my own kids were also infested. I combed out my god daughters hair but didn't use nit lotion because I couldn't contact my friend for permission(that's a different story,out of the country a week and no contact!!) I have managed to delouse my own children, now my friend wants me to have the child again for a weekend. I just can't be bothered with the nit drama again. I know my friend hasn't done anything about it in the meantime. To spare her embarrassment I actually said "I think ***** may have caught nits from my kids, you need to check her" She shrugged and said " everyone's got them nowadays"

Answer 1

h**l yeah it is! it shouldnt come to that because a parent who cares would have taken care of the problem.

maybe u should use the shiny shoes to kick some sense into her, eh?

Answer 2

You are being fair, its not your responsibility!! This "friend" needs to be told straight up that she either sorts out her child or itll be taken into the hands of someone else.

Answer 3

I am so sorry for this. Wow. Some people don't understand the importance of nipping it in the bud when it comes to head lice! It might be summer now but what about when school rolls around. Your God daughter won't be able to attend! I would call in the authorities if she doesn't take care of it very soon! That poor little girl! Take care, Mandy

Answer 4

She is neglecting her child if she is not getting the lice problem fixed. If I were you I would have used NIX in the first place and not waited for permission. Tell her you won't allow her to leave her child at your home because she has lice and had them last time she was there. You should talk to the woman and her husband. If they will not listen or take care of it consider calling CPS.  

Answer 5

Public schools don't allow children with lice, so you shouldn't either.

In our school district, you've got 3 days to de-lice you children.  If they have to be out of school after that time, it becomes an unexcused absence.  To many absences and DHR (or who ever is the proper authority) gets involved.

So, yes, it's fair for you to refuse to mind a child with headlice.  It's rude of the parent to not attempt get rid of it.

Answer 6

You have every right to refuse to watch her child until she takes care of the problem.  That's just wrong of her.  You have an obligation to watch out for your own children and keep them out of harm's way.  So definitely politely refuse to watch this woman's child.  And kindly point out, that no, not everyone has them - and if they do get them, any decent parent would take care of it right away.  That's just gross.

Answer 7

Not treating head lice is neglect.  A child is not even allowed in school with lice.  Don't take her back, she will re infest your house again.  Just say No!    

Answer 8

No don't expose your children to this.

As a matter of fact you should report the mother to CPS.

Do it for the child.

Perhaps a CPS representative can convince her that letting bugs crawl all over your child is unacceptable and yes legally defined as neglect which is child abuse.

Society as a whole should be looking out for all kids.

When you think about how little the mother cares about the head lice or what other people could perceive her parenting abilities to be one has to ask what goes on that you don't know about.

ADDED AFTER ORIGINAL POST:

PS. I am not going to give Emily a thumbs down because she has the right attitude.

But she said to treat the child without permission. Which you should not do.

No DO NOT treat the child with RID or any other OTC medication, I know common sense says yes do it, but if that child has a reaction to the treatment, there are documented causes of allergic reactions killing kids you could go to jail!

Also cases of adults treating kids them getting sick and the adult who treated them for the lice getting charged as a criminal. ( I know absurd but the legal system sucks but now is not the time to test it) Not worth the risk - you have kids who need you, not a mom preoccupied w. court c**p.

And yeah if you don't report the mom to CPS and something bad happens to the kid if they find out you had cause to report her and did not, they could charge you with accessory. You know when the **** hits the fan a scapegoat is great.

Answer 9

My brother went through this situation with his kids. It's not fair to you and not healthy for that baby!!!!! Tell her now so it gets taken care of!

Do NOT put your kids through this mess too! She needs to go through and do the WHOLE house! I recommend calling the doctor to use the prescription strength lice remover, it works the best. If Child Protective Services knew she was doing nothing about this, they would have a field day.

It's not a dirty thing - kids get them all the time. It's what the parents do to protect their children that matters.  

Answer 10

I wouldn't risk exposing my own children to lice again if the lady doesn't care enough about her own kid to deal with it. I will tell you though, when we were dealing with this same situation, we found a little comb that ran on batteries. Once you wash the hair and comb through it with the nit comb, dry the hair thoroughly with a blow dryer and run the electric comb through their hair, it electrocutes the lice before they have a chance to lay eggs. You do it everyday for 2 weeks, then once a week after that until you find no more lice. Much less stressful and you don't have to mess with the yucky shampoos, creams and sprays.