Lice control
published: 2010-09-13Lice control at my son’s school this morning. I was one of three designated lice-controllers. I had no idea what to expect. We never had lice control when I was young. But I had lice. All the time.
Everytime I engage in a school activity, I am impressed by how many parents have a natural talent for acting. Whether they’re preparing for end of year performance, or doing lice-control. The given parent will do a small, charicatural act with the teacher and pretend to check the teacher’s hair. The kids are, of course, in stitches. In doing so, that parent is showing the kids what’s about to happen.
Trying to discuss something serious with my son has proven to be nearly impossible. He shuts off the moment I say, “listen dear…”. I soon learned that the only way to bring a message across is to make up stories which have a moral to them. Like the one about the girl who was really good at playing the piano and hadn’t performed for a while. Suddenly she was really scared to go up on a stage and play, when she used to always love doing it (= fear of going back to school after Summer.) And so on.
A hidden message. So then how come kids themselves can be so openly cruel to eachother? No, you cannot play with me, bleehhh! Accompanied by a kick. And parents can be agressive about play-dates. I am quite daunted by the fanaticism by which friendships are arranged for. Whatever happened to that one single first day at school for the entire class? Everyone being new?
But above all, performing the lice control was an endearing event. I was reminded of how readily children surrender themselves, completely and wholly. To a perfect stranger. They trust us. And in light of the above: that’s quite scary.