Head louse (頭虱)

Head lice, I don't see any head lice. Do you?

Phoebe was infected with head lice the other day. We found that out yesterday from the nursery. We have to quarantine her for a couple of days, and try to get rid of that nasty bug from our house. Worse of all, mom was infected too. Mama was really embarrassed with this problem as a few other children caught head lice at Phoebe's nursery as well. We think that Phoebe might be the source. Everybody had to be disinfected including poor Ernest and papa. We were the innocent bystanders as we weren't infected at all. Besides, I don't think the lice have anywhere to hide on my head. Anyway, with the head lice problem was solved, the whole family is back to normal once more.

We learned a few things from this episode.
- Head lice in Japanese is called 頭虱（あたましらみ）
- It takes about 3-4 days to get rid of this problem.
- Head lice is almost an unheard of problem in Japan.

This was the shampoo which neutralized the lice threat to the family.
It's called sumisurin L (スミスリンL)

Tough Dad, Soft Dad

I heard that 3 year olds can be quite difficult. It's because, this is the age where they are building up character and testing the will of their guardian. Recently, Ernest has become more and more intolerant towards our wishes. He's got to have it his way or non at all. Of course, as parents, we should not give in too easily as this will give the impression that we are weak and meek. How do you get a 3 year old to be on time, listen to you and not throw a tantrum all the time. That's a difficult question.

The other day, I was struggling to feed Ernest during dinner time. I was somewhat successful at the dining table, but all efforts to get him to brush his teeth were in vain. He just refused flatly. This was followed by about 10 minutes of power struggle before mom finally came to the rescue and took him away. This morning, I was trying to get Ernest to put on his trousers for school. Alas, he refused every single piece of it. This went on for some time, having exhausted his collection of pants which amounted to 5 pieces, over and over again. Finally, at wits end, I held him near, consoled him as he was every bit as tired as me after that endurance test and finally managed to put it on for him.

All these episodes, brings me to realize that a 3 year old's vocabulary is really limited. They have many feelings that they cannot described fully to us and that we just fail to recognize the signs. Being a parent, we need to see them and react accordingly. Sometimes, by loosening up a little, we can be more effective in persuading the little one to our wishes.

Happy parenting!

Ernest enjoying a burger in his favorite Boukenger sweater