Mum admits she enjoys removing head lice

She writes in a recent piece on the Aussie lifestyle site that she actually enjoys popping her 8-year-old daughter Ivy’s nits – and finds getting each one to be rather satisfying.

“It’s a bizarre confession, but I actually enjoy removing head lice from my children,” she says.

“I am hoping this doesn’t land me on an episode of My Strange Addiction where my cohort is a woman who likes eating dry wall and another one who’s fond of noshing down on deodorant sticks. They’re weird. Nitpicking is natural.”

She reckons it's natural because monkeys often groom themselves in a similar way.

“There, I said it. It’s not just natural – it’s good for you,” she adds. “We only have to look to our monkey friends for proof. Nitpicking in the animal kingdom keeps you healthy.”

She also says it “brings the family together”.

“Literally. You’ll be all standing in the bathroom wearing the solution while the Head Nitpicker works their way through your hair. It’s a moment of family closeness. That's right, nits help us to connect.

“My kids really seem to enjoy it too. After combing through their hair they’ll cry out "How many did you get?" Once I've decommissioned the head lice I am then requested to show my child the collection of corpses squashed onto the tissue.

“Sometimes we even count them and have a family competition for who had the biggest crop.

“The winner gets to unpack the dishwasher (it's a disincentive to win).”

You know us, we’d have to say: each to their own. And we can definitely relate to a few of these points (knowing you've got them all can feel like a real victory).

But when they’re coming home from school with head lice again and again, reaching for that special comb’s a bit annoying more than anything else ??

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Elizabeth Atkin

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