when i was in college i nannied for a few hours a week (12-15) for a family who called me and asked if i could come in early that day. i said yes and asked why, and the dad joked that he picked up his daughter to play hooky. when i got there the little girl ran up to me and said "i have a secret" and pulled me down to whisper in my ear and goes "LICE". . .
i was really pissed that they hadn't told me and asked if i was willing to expose myself to that. i definitely would not have allowed the child to be that close to me. i also would not have been able to afford lice removal if my own apartment was infested. they wanted me to wash her hair with the lice shampoo and comb out the nits. i did it but i really didn't try very hard-for $15 an hour and without so much as a heads up they really didn't deserve it.

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny actually saw the letter first because she unpacks their school stuff. So she alerted me - I went to the drugstore on my way home and she and I bathed the kids immediately.

I spent the weekend doing the preliminary combing etc... and she and I managed it for the next few weeks until we were fully certain it was over.

She'd been through this before w/ other kids so was actually our in house expert - over-ruling even the school nurse when the nurse cleared the kids but our nanny felt it wasn't good enough yet.

So she did the bulk of the heavy lifting. And god bless her for it.

She got a cash bonus and our profuse thanks.

Btdt, several times. The family who asks, is verbally appreciative is the one I didn’t mind helping. The family who waited to inform me, told me that I would work extra to do the households bedding and kids’ comb outs by myself because parents wanted to limit contact? I resented that so much!

I’d be pissed if I was informed I’d be helping with lice removal and laundry and all that. Sorry but, gross.

Our nanny actually saw the letter first because she unpacks their school stuff. So she alerted me - I went to the drugstore on my way home and she and I bathed the kids immediately.

I spent the weekend doing the preliminary combing etc... and she and I managed it for the next few weeks until we were fully certain it was over.

She'd been through this before w/ other kids so was actually our in house expert - over-ruling even the school nurse when the nurse cleared the kids but our nanny felt it wasn't good enough yet.

So she did the bulk of the heavy lifting. And god bless her for it.

She got a cash bonus and our profuse thanks.

Absolutely you should tell the nanny immediately! I wouldn't involve her directly in comb-outs but would certainly alert her to what to look for if she hasn't seen lice before.

We did get one of these letters once. Did not have a nanny but did have an AP. I've never heard of a professional lice removal person, but in my experience, we ALL had to be involved in getting rid of them. The entire household. I bought the special shampoos and combs and we washed a lot. AP, to her credit, was not put off by this and did her part. I would hope that a professional nanny could do the same.

I think the Nanny should know stat.

And to be fair - I would pay for her treatment and even offer her the personal use of your laundry facilities (if like many Nannys, she doesn’t own a washer/dryer) to wash any bedding, etc. from her own home.

I would want to know ASAP. Hire a professional lice person to comb out the hair and get rid of them. My boss also has them comb out my hair just in case. Please don’t ask your nanny to do this. Laundry is fine but don’t ask her to get rid of the lice.

If you employ a nanny and get the lice letter when do you tell your nanny? How much help do you expect from your nanny in terms of comb outs, treatments, laundry and such. If you are a nanny when do you think you should be informed if such a possibility exists and what do you think your responsibility entails in terms of treatment and prevention?