All the other wonderful mums have given solid advise however there are now advice that head lice do not favour clean or dirty hair : Do head lice prefer clean or dirty hair?
There is no evidence that head lice prefer clean or dirty hair, nor do they favour certain hair types.
However head lice are repelled by certain strong, natural scents : peppermint, tea tree oil, rosemary, lavender, and eucalyptus are very effective.
Peppermint being one of the most effective as well as tea tree.
Weekly soaking/washing of all hair brushes and combs in vinegar, hot water is also a added prevention.

Well, oddly enough dirty hair actually discourages lice – apparently when it’s oily they can’t get a grip and slide right out. I’m not suggesting you go for total filth, but maybe only washing hair once or twice a week. And tie hair up – something like plaits which really contains it, if their hair is long enough.

We went through a stage where one child would always get the lice going around and spread it to all the other kids in the family. So frustrating! Teaching your kids to ‘stay out of others’ bubbles’, will help avoid so many occurrences. Keep their hair tied up, and fairly short for boys. Check regularly.

I remember those days. Two out of my 3 kids contacted lice in primary school. I don’t think there’s anyway to avoid it. It’s quite contagious. It’s a real pain if they get lice but fortunately there are effective and affordable treatments on the market. My only suggestion is, with girls, keep their hair neatly tied up.

I truly think they are more attracted to some than others! lol Two brothers I know, both with short hair. One has had them on and off all last year and the brother not once, even though they rumble and play together all the time. Treatments remove them and then months later he catches them again. Checking regularly and getting them early is a good idea. My head is itching just thinking about them.

I don’t think there is any real way of avoiding it unfortunately. It’s just a part of growing up. As your children get older you can try to educate them about not getting too close to other children and if you have a girl tight hairstyles help- buns and braids. If you have a boy shorter hairstyles are better. Other than that it’s just about managing nits and getting on top of them early with decent treatments.

Making sure you keep boys hair short or tied up.
Girls with longer hair need to have it tied up and/or in plaits.
As others have said if they get nits use the conditioner treatment rather than the nit treatments which have harsh chemicals and are quite nasty. The conditioner leaves there hair lovely and soft.

Add tea tree oil to a spray bottle with some conditioner and water. Spray it in the hair massage or combing it through to the roots. Worked for me and my child.

Add tea tree oil to a spray bottle with some conditioner and water. Spray it in the hair massage or combing it through to the roots. Worked for me and my child.

As someone who worked in daycare, I can assure you washing their hair in cheap conditioner and combing it out is much cheaper than the treatments.
The best thing is once you have done that is to put some tea tree oil into a plastic spray bottle with some water and spray it on your children’s hair every day after you have brushed it … tie it up if they have long hair to minimize contact with other children’s hair, but just the spraying every day with the tea tree/water mix is the best thing ever, it will keep your children’s hair free of head lice and smell nice at the same time! I have given this advice to hundreds of parents over my 18yrs of working in daycare! Plus it’s cheap to have and use, another bonus!

Regularly using a thick hair conditioner and wet combing should help. Tie long hair back, label their hats really clearly so they don’t accidentally wear someone else’s! Washing and drying daycare/school clothes on high heat when there has been a chance of exposure might also give some peace of mind.

May daughter went through this when she was at daycare and never once got lice. I think it is hard not to worry but as long as you are prepared should your child get it, then there is not much you can do about it. Kids are going to catch things, no matter how much you try and avoid it.

Oh man I remember the time that all four of my kids had head lice and my son was the worst with his fine angel hair; he had literally thousands of lice and I spent every afternoon lice picking and -combing the kids. Ever since I make a solution of water and vinegar with a bit of eucalyptus or tea-tree oil (I use an old spray bottle for this). I spray this every morning in the hair before brushing as a defense spray and it works well.
Other tips Keep hair short or keep long hair braided or tied.
Don’t wash hair too often (lice like clean hair = free moving access).
Use hair gel or hair spray (reduce free moving access)
You can do a check every so often; apply a royal amount of any type of cheap conditioner on dry hair, let it sit for a while, divide the hair in sections and comb the hair with a lice comb.
But honestly with using my home made spray and only check when I think I see something suspicious or when my child is scratching her skull excesively.

I’m pretty sure it’s ultimately unavoidable ☹️. My girls had a few rounds during primary school and it’s an absolute nightmare with very long thick hair. Regularly change their pillow cases, invest in a metal lice comb and I tried to avoid the chemical nit treatments and brought a very thick conditioner and smothered their hair and combed it through. Good luck I hope you’re one of the lucky ones and miss out completely.