Hit Nitz 4 6 are a relatively new company, having formed in 2009 out of a frustrating need to find a way to eradicate the lice and nits their children seemed to have recurring run ins with. They were passionate about finding an effective solution that is still natural and with an active ingredient that is a certified organic herb which has never been used in lice control products before, meaning that the lice have not had a chance to build an immunity to it.
This is a two product treatment plan that is becoming quite popular, it utilises Wormwood for an active ingredient and I will definitely be buying some next time I’m in the market.
Recently a survey was initiated by Hit Nitz 4 6 to find out a little more about the parental attitudes and issues related to nits and head lice, the survey unearthed some interesting statistics which I am looking forward to sharing.
92% of parents believe that schools, kindergartens and childcare centres should be allowed to check for head lice.
“Most schools and childcare centres in Australia don’t check for head lice,” explains Hit Nitz 4 6 Director, Michelle Olden. “They believe it’s an invasion of privacy or simply not something that should be considered their responsibility. This new research suggests parents believe otherwise.”
There are schools and child care centres in Victoria and Queensland with ‘parent managed head lice programs’ where parents volunteer to check children on a regular basis. The parents need to sign consent forms and volunteers need to sign confidentiality agreements, background checks are required and all precautions are taken to ensure privacy and safety of children. This survey would suggest that many Australian parents would like to see these programs become more widespread.
The research shows that parents who are becoming frustrated with the fight against lice that seems to be neverending are not alone.
91.2% of parents surveyed believe the re-infestation rates are so high because some parents don’t treat their children. There are parents who have given up treating their children because the cycle seems unstoppable and that simply makes it harder for the parents determined to beat the lice cycle.
This next questions brought some extremely interesting results in that 71.4% of surveyed parents believe that schools, kindergartens and child care centres should be able to treat children for head lice, in itself not an answer that surprised me – this would mean you know all the class were treated. The element that surprised me was that 18.3% supported this regardless of parental support, 53.2% believe parental consent to be a prerequisite before treatment. I doubt this is going to begin anytime in the near future but it is certainly demonstrative of the frustrations parents are feeling.
Children discovered with lice in their hair should be excluded from contact with other children or sent home immediately according to 69.8% of the parents surveyed.
The stigma attached to having head lice is an interesting concept because 80.5% of the parents surveyed believe there is still a stigma stigma attached to having head lice but the further you dig the more you discover that parents don’t believe there SHOULD be that stigma. Head lice don’t discriminate and they present a widespread problem.
The widespread nature of the problem is illustrated in the 23.7% of parents whose children had not had lice in the past 12 months, The 15.1% whose children had contracted head lice more than ten times in the past year but 45.7% of parents, which made up the majority, had children who had head lice 1-5 times in the past year.
In 59.7% cases the head lice were detected because the child was scratching.
Unfortunately 72.8% of parents surveyed don’t think it’s possible to stop children contracting head lice if they are always in contact with children who aren’t treated.
The survey contained a question about the most inconvenient or frustrating thing about head lice and not surprisingly the top two answers were the time taken to treat with 69.1% and Re-infestation with 64.4% but high percentages were also recorded for Discomfort, Expense, Products not working and Combing.
To read the complete results and find out more about the new kid on block head over to: www.hitnitz46.com
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!