Rick Bolt's Blog

I am almost certain that Cate will have written or posted something about what this blog post pertains to as I know just how much this impacts on her. I have not had any opportunity to check what Cate may have written prior to post this…………………………

I’m a father to what is now days considered a rather large family. A lot of the time I take having children around as granted because they are always there. Although I am told by Cate to think about the safety of the children a lot more then I do. But being the pig headed male that I am, I tend to hear but not listen.

The past few months have really culminated this morning. Far too many times over the past few months the news bulletins I’m listening to or watching are carrying stories of children missing or being hurt or now all to often being killed. This morning while driving the children to school I was listening to news as I always do, waiting in hope for the story to come up of the 3 year old little boy that went missing from his home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs yesterday afternoon. The story came up and  against all hope the little boy was found deceased by the side of a road 20 or 30 km from where he disappeared.  Tears started to roll down my face from under my sun glasses. I was able to hide this from the kids as they chatted and played.  “This just can’t be!”, not another one. Then another story followed of a 6 yo child that was found drowned in a dam at 12:30 this morning in NSW.  Two more families destroyed, two more little lives gone, for what reason? I don’t know either family but I cried at their loss, what parent wouldn’t?

What is going on in this world?  Little people dying by drowning in dams, at the hands of other children and even at the hands of adults… WHY? What has changed in the world that now sees so many children facing such untimely death? Have I had my head in the sand for so long that nothing has actually changed but now suddenly I’m noticing? OR Is it that we are losing more children in this manner more often they we use too and if so, why? And I say “we” as a parent, a parent concerned now for the safety of not only my children but all children.

I can not in any way imagine how the parents of all of these children continue to function with the loss of their children no matter how it occurs. The fear I felt when Charlie went “walkabout” with Jasmine last year was horrific, but he was safe, although given where we lived at the time, the outcome could have been significantly worse. While writing the post I keep having the thought, what has happened where the community helped raise the local children? I know that now days we don’t tend to stay in the same house for long periods, but when a family moves into a community, why isn’t it like when I was growing up? The “new” neighbours would quickly make themselves known and eye would always be watching out for the neighbourhood kids. When this occurred when I was a kid, I’m sure there were nowhere near as many child fatalities?

I am positive that there is nobody other then Cate and Myself watching out for our children…

If you have children, does the neighbourhood help you watch or look out for your children?

Rick

Just a quick update on my Cenerlink office visit post. Thank you for the comments. I have not posted those comments as a number contained words that I didn’t think appropriate on my blog but totally understand the context in which they were made. I would like to make it clear that my post was aimed at the behaviours of the centerlink staff NOT my attempts to look for work. In fact I did state that “Maybe  that can be another post!”. So for those of you enjoying having a go at me for not finding a job, hold those thoughts until I get to that blog post. The one thing I do request is that you have the intestinal fortitude to use your real name and submit a real email address and or web site address. Hiding behind false information and details really defeats the purpose of your comments ( does it not??)

 

Lets face it, I’m not happy person and I haven’t been for a long time but sometimes I think I have a genuine reason to state that I feel I’m not being treated fairly!

Today was the day I hate the most each fortnight, some of you will have already guessed it. Yep, It’s form lodging day. That’s right, because I can’t find any work (and I don’t need any comments about “ well I’ve never been out of work”) because I am and have been looking for work but obviously failing miserably. Maybe that can be another post!

What I hate the most about this day is the actual visit to the centrelink office. Other then my last visit a fortnight ago which was a bit different to all others, today is the worst day. I hate the standing in line like a sheep with cap in hand feeling like I should be asking “may I have more sir”. This to me is so demoralising. Then to have a person who in all reality is no better then me, in fact who knows I may actually have had more life experience then they have, look down their nose at me, at the way I’m dressed (no I don’t have nice clothes that’s the way life is) that I’m wearing broken prescription glasses that I’m there begging for a hand out while they have the power to look at a screen with all my details that I cant see at the same time and drag out the awkward silence really is plain rubbish.

Wether they mean to do it or not, I feel like I’m being treated like I’m second class? Why do I have to sit there and hold my breath while they made a decision as to wether I’ve filled the form in honestly or not? If you don’t believe me, ring the phone numbers listed or email the address’s I’ve provided. Don’t make me sit there wondering wether I’m going to get my fortnightly hand out or not.

How hard is it to engage me in some conversation? Am I not worthy of your words because I’m on the other side of the screen? If that’s not the case, what could it be? Do they not like their job that much that they just go through the motions begrudgingly? If so, why not leave and let someone who wants to work do the job?

But on the other hand let me point out that my last visit a fortnight ago was very different, on that occasion the gentleman did engage me in conversation, he spun the screen around and let me see what he was doing, showed me what he and I need to complete. We discussed my efforts to find work and even found out that we both worked for the same employer many moons ago and even knew the same people back in Victoria. As bad as I feel having to go and hand in a form for a government hand out, that visit was made bearable and I felt like I was being treated as a person and not a sheep or a number.

So that shows me that they are allowed to communicate in a friendly manner! Why do you think it feels like this? Is this just me or have/do you have the same feeling when dealing with Government agencies?
Thanks again for taking a few moments to have a read.
Rick

Back again with another post so quickly, well quick for me anyway.

I still have so much to say but at the same time have difficulty trying to express that in writing, so these next few posts will no doubt be a little disjointed as I talk about the past few months and then also talk about what’s happening now.

 Looking back over the past few months there have been three main things that I have not been able to accept or “get over”. Unlike Cate who has an ability to learn and move on I have struggled to accept these things and at this stage just can not move on. I know it sounds stupid and immature but they are chewing at me and I just cant get over them. I can see these are holding me back from getting on with life but I just can not stop it!

The first of the issues is FRIENDS.

I’ve always lived by the thought that if you let people into your life, you will get hurt. To save getting hurt, I simply just do not let people into my life. Therefore as such I don’t actually have anybody that I refer to as “my friend”. There are even parts to me that even Cate has not cracked her way in. But nether the less we as a family have/had people close enough to us that family members called them friends. These friends were present in one way or another all way up to the point that we were evicted from the house. Now wether us being evicted was of our own doing or through the doing of others is irrelevant, one would expect that our friends would provide some level of support, even if it was only a phone call or email to say “hey were here if you need us”…. But no… we were now homeless and publicly so and that apparently means that nobody wants anything to do with you anymore. The so called friends went into hiding. Ran for the hills even!!

Personally I found this a discussing act and very hurtful. As uncomfortable as it might be to communicate with a “homeless family”, friendship should be stronger than that. And to use excuses like “I didn’t know what to say” or “I thought I’d just make it harder for you” just does not cut it, it’s a cop out. If it wasn’t bad enough living in a tent and van, moving every three or so days and feeling like EVERY person you went past was looking at you because they just knew you were homeless, not having anybody familiar to communicate with just made things feel so much worse.

Just to go back for a second, after a few weeks I had to ask Cate about the feeling I had that no matter where I was, it really felt that people were staring at me because I had “homeless” written on my forehead. Cate felt exactly the same thing, it was a horrible and humiliating feeling. But I digress!

Strangely enough during our travels we met a few people that for various reasons were in similar situations dealing with their issues and to my surprise these people stopped and took the time to talk to us, to communicate with the kids and allowed them to feel human. How sad is it that a complete stranger with their own demons to deal with could offer support when the so called friends left us for dead. And that is why I just can not move forward on this issue.

Maybe I could throw in a positive post next time?? Lets wait and see, but before I go I would like to know, what would you do in this situation? Put yourself in the position of the “friend” be honest with me and let me know, what would you do, how would you feel? I’d appreciate the comments to help me find a way past this issue. But of course, play nice… If you want to be nasty, I’ll just close the comments altogether.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings.

 Rick

I guess that unless you have lived under a rock or on the moon you will know that the past two months have not been the most enjoyable. If, by some chance you have no idea what I’m talking about, please read Cates blog at www.catherinebolt.com

I have so much to say that it might be best if I break it down into sizeable chunks and post individually. I will however point out that I am not Cate, I have different views, ideas and outlook then Cate. I can not write as well and I can not clearly articulate my thoughts like Cate. I do not speak like Cate and I do not form friendships like Cate and no doubt you will see over the coming posts that what I have learnt and what I am still struggling with is different to Cate. BUT that’s what helped get us through so far the issues we faced to this point, we are different, we look from different angles and we can work together…. To survive.

Strangely enough just like Cate the past couple of months have taught me many things, Things that I thought I already knew about! Homelessness, friendship, crisis management even just trying to keep a family together, So if nothing else good comes of the issues and experiances we have faced, I have gained some very valuable experience in a side of life I actually knew nothing about. All sounds confusing?

Prior to Cates very public description of our families’ homelessness, how many of you had even given a second thought about the homeless situation in Australia? How many of you had/have the same pathetic ideas as I did that only drunks, druggies and those with mental issues were homeless? Well I learnt first hand that is not the case. AND it hurt, it still hurts now. The reasons I’m still hurting I will save for other posts. I never knew how big an issue homelessness is in Australia. I never knew just how little federal and state governments know or care about homelessness. I never knew just how kind some people can be and how destabilising and down right hurtful others including Government departments can be… Again more detail to follow in further posts.

To finish this post may I please request something of you? To help me help a couple of charities? During the period of our homelessness there were two charities that stood tall and forced me to swallow my pride and accept help. No matter how humiliated and humbled I felt, these charities stood by us and helped us survive.

The first is St Vincent De Paul (most importantly the Coolum branch), without the help of a very special group of people we would have faced some even bigger issues. And even as late as today SVDP and there helping me deal with the issues that still affect my family and I. Therefore if it is possible in any way, can you please spare a few dollars and donate it to St Vincent De Paul’s? If you get the chance, say thank you for me.

Second and by no means last is 4Walls. Without the intervention of this unbelievably wonderful group of people I’m not sure we would have survived as a family group. From nowhere they were able to place us in temporary accommodation, furnish the house and make us feel wanted and Human. And through their actions (and a couple of other special people) the Bendigo Bank has opened an appeal to raise funds to help 4Walls with their work with the homeless. The appeal is called “Cates Cause”. Please if you could spare any money at all for this appeal it will go towards helping those who really do need help.

Please support “Cates Cause” a national appeal against homelessness. You can donate online or any Bendigo Bank  http://tinyurl.com/catescause

This has gone a bit longer then I planned and I have so much more to say. Please continue to follow my blog and invite others to share my experiences?

 

Rick

Yet again its been a while since I’ve posted on the blog.

I guess by what you can see in the previous post, we have had some issues to deal with and are still dealing with them. As yet we still do not have another house to move into. No doubt the real estate agent has now filed with the small claims tribunal to have us removed from this house. But until we have somewhere else to go, what are we meant to do? Live on the side of the road? Is this what our world has come too? That if you run into financial problems the first thing is to sink the boots in and then keep kicking until you don’t move anymore? Because that’s what it feels like.

The hurt and humiliation of going through what we are experiencing right now and from what I can see will be facing for some time to come is nothing like I have ever experienced before. I grew up in a rather poor family and thought I had it tough, but I never saw or experienced the issues that I’m now sure my father went through while I was growing up. So in that and with all the failings I saw in my father he did a good job in trying to spare me from the hurt I now feel. That’s probably something I don’t ever remember saying to him “Thank you Dad”.  

Cate has and still is working extremely hard to try and fund us a new home, keep Project 18 moving forward, push for project 18’s registration as a charity and the creation of planet you.  And it has taken a huge toll…  Not to mention my inability to deal with all of this in a mature manner this of course causes even greater pain for Cate and the children. And for that I am truly sorry to my family. If, by the way, anybody on the Sunshine Coast actually reads this post, if you happen to know of any 4 bedroom (or more) houses available ANYWHERE on the Sunny Coast can you please let me know??? We really are desperate now.

On the up side this whole experience has highlighted to me where I had made wrong decisions in the past and has taught me should I ever come across similar situations what I should look for and how to make more acceptable decisions. I know that given that wonderful gift of hindsight, I will not make the same mistakes that I have previously made and therefore give a better chance to never place my family in this type of situation ever again.

I’m generally not a sociable or to be matter of fact about it, a nice person. I keep everybody at arms length and don’t let anybody into my world.. Even Cate can’t get in!! So to have people that don’t know me very well or only know me through social media offer their kind support through this time is so foreign to me. And as wrong as it is, I question why. I don’t have anything left for you to take, so why are you ringing or messaging to talk to me and offer support and some teachers and parents at my children’s school continually checking with me and being so excited when something positive happened earlier this week? Could it be that there really are genuinely nice people in this world? Have I been wrong all my life? Do I now let people in and drop my guard and set myself up for a fall or accept nice people exist?  

I’ve rambled enough now:

 

If you get nothing else out of reading my blog, PLEASE appreciate what you have in your family and friends.

 

Rick

THE FOLLOWING IS TAKEN FROM CATE’S BLOG WHICH CRASHED DUE TO THE SUPPORT OF OUR AWESOME FOLLOWERS AND FRIENDS.

Ok, so this isn’t directly charity related but this blog is about what happens when you make a decision to change your life for the “better” and follow your heart to try to leave the world a better place.

I’m emotionally drained, so most of this post is going to be copies & pasted from an email I sent last night to a friend. Forgive me, it’s not lazy… it’s just an emotional incapability to write it all again.

Here’s the deal. We live in this fantastic house, it’s really amazing and we took it on when we were both making good money and the rent $675/week was no issue. Then when Ricks business got hit by the GFC and all the big contracts he was supposed to be working on got put on hold until the economy picked up again. So initially my business was supporting his payroll until I just couldn’t afford to do it anymore and we had to put everyone off.

So a few months later when I decided I really wasn’t happy with my business anymore and needed to do something worthwhile, we were in a comfortable position. We did all the numbers and what we had coming in was enough to cover the necessities. There wasn’t heaps left over, but we’re simple people we don’t want for much. We don’t drink or smoke, we don’t eat out, we don’t as a general rule go anywhere that costs anything. The sum total of our “entertainment” spending is our Austar subscription – and given that we don’t get free to air TV here, I don’t think that’s a luxury when you’ve got kids.

We made the very difficult decision to take our children out of their private school that they love next year, and send them to a public school. This will save us about $12,000/yr and, had we not had some horrific problems with the school in the last term, I’m not sure I could have bought myself to do that.

We have managed to keep paying the rent for the most part this year but have missed about 4-5 weeks over the last year. For the last couple of months we’ve been paying $700/week to try to pay off some of what we owe in arrears, and we haven’t missed a rent payment in ages. The real estate agency seems to turn over staff faster than KFC (no offence KFC, thanks for not using Palm Oil anymore) - the previous property manager had made an agreement with us that if $700 was what we could afford, then that was fine. When he also left, 3 months ago we heard no more from the agent until about a week ago when they were to come for a routine inspection.

The inspection date rolls around and we are waiting all day for them to show up. We made 4 or 5 calls to their office but the phones weren’t answered (it was, after all, Melbourne Cup day). That evening we received a phone call from our neighbour who lives in a completely separate house at the bottom of the 14 hectare property. He asked if we were to have an inspection that day, because someone had come to his house and left a note saying that he was supposed to be there for an inspection, but as he wasn’t they had entered his property to carry out the inspection without him. That’s right… they went to the WRONG house – a house which is not even rented through their office and carried out an inspection on the home. People who live in the country will understand that we’re pretty relaxed about locking doors out in the sticks.

So the giggling property manager rings up two days later- apparently illegally entering someone’s house is funny, and she reschedules her appointment for today. I had no desire to speak to her so passed her on to Rick. At the time of this phone call she told Rick  words to the effect of: she can see that our rent is being paid regularly but it is still behind, and that we need to put a payment plan forward to catch up the arrears and if we do that, everything is OK. That was on the 5th of November. “Set up a payment plan and everything will be fine”

On Monday the 9th we spoke to the property manager again to try to determine exactly how much we would need to pay to keep out of trouble. The property manager wouldn’t give us an answer and instead told us “you work it out and I’ll go back to the owner”

So we sit down and crunch the numbers, we’re already leaving ourselves short for food, but Rick spent the day at the Salvo’s getting some food etc. Which I feel crap about cause he’s a pretty proud guy, he’s never been unemployed, he’s never had to ask for food. But he did it and he came home happy because we had food. I should say also that he’s been applying for every single job that is advertised within a reasonable commute including some pretty crappy jobs which with his depth of knowledge & experience are insulting, but he’s applying. I’m just making the point that we aren’t sitting here trying to be elitist, we’re doing everything we can.

So then soon after he got home, less than 24 hours after speaking to the agent about the rental arrears, the real estate agent rings up again and says they’re hand delivering a notice to vacate and we have SEVEN days to get out of the house.

The whole time with the cars and all the other crap, I kept saying “I’m ok as long as I have a roof over my head and we don’t lose the house” – so now… yeah … now I have no idea what we’re going to do. We couldn’t afford to move even if we did have somewhere to go, and the landlord won’t let us stay even if we managed to find the $3,000-odd we owe them. My family have even asked me “what about your rent, are you ok with that?” and I’ve said “yeah, we’re fine!” because we had an agreement, that yes we were a few weeks behind but we were paying regularly AND paying extra, albeit only a little extra.

Just as I thought we would be able to cope with Christmas,  Remax Mooloolaba expect a family, in financial hardship, with 9 children a dog, a cat & 9 chickens to not only find alternate housing but be moved out and property cleaned, keys returned within SEVEN days. And when we ask how we are supposed to find another house (especially as evictees) we are told “We will do what we can, but it probably won’t be through us”

We are not delinquent tenants. We don’t have parties and annoy the neighbours. We haven’t trashed the property, in fact we keep an impeccable house and grounds. We have three special needs children who have really only just settled in to their surroundings. The thought of spending Christmas homeless is really not something I planned when I decided to give up my previous life to try to make the world a better place.

The point of this blog at the start was to prove that anyone could make a difference if they decided to. I guess at this point I’m not making a very good case. If you’re wondering if this means the end of Project 18, then the answer is an unequivocal NO. I won’t give up on what I believe in. We’ve made a commitment to the betterment of the planet. Remax Mooloolaba won’t put an end to that.

We have had several discussions with Remax over the past 24 hours begging them to be reasonable – they refuse to negotiate. I would like to ask all my supporters, followers and friends to help me spread the word. And please take a minute to contact Remax Mooloolaba and ask them WHY in this day & age, are they so incapable of making reasonable compassionate decisions?

You can Tweet Remax Mooloolaba @RentalAdvice email: mooloolaba@remaxproperty.com.au or phone their office 07 5452 4555

It’s been a little while since I have posted to the blog part of my site.  Things are a little tough here at the moment with the lack of rain. We are now critically low on drinking water, so low in fact you may liken it to “level 10″ water restrictions. With the prospect of rain still 2 or more weeks away, things are not looking good for the immediate future. On the positive side, the weather is sooooooo good it’s unbelievable!

School holidays are with us again and we have survived the first week without too much disruption. Let’s hope week two goes well also. I’m also guessing that with Cates parents visiting for the week, this may have helped with the relative good behaviors.

If you have been following the project 18 site or my Project 18 page you would now know that we have received approval for incorporation of the association. A huge step forward. We now have a bank account open although it took almost two weeks (The bank will remain nameless!). I am currently preparing our application for approval to collect donations as a charity in QLD. We are as always looking for new members and there is a membership application form that is downloadable here: Click Here Any assistance with encouraging new members would be greatly appreciated.

If, by any chance anybody has any contacts with businesses needing the services of a qualified and registered project manager I really would be interested in making contact with you and them.

That’s it for now… I’ll put more effort into regular posts!!! Really I will.

Rick

As you would already know Cate and I run the lifestyle sanctuary website and of course recommend the products we sell (see about me page) on the Lifestyle Sanctuary website. We have a large family of 9 children (8 boys and a girl). Yes we know what caused it and all the other usual jokes!!

We use the products we offer on our website for our everyday living. We do not sell any products we have not tried ourselves. So if we make a comment or a review, its true and it’s what we got out of using the product.

Like many parents we are concerned for the health and wellbeing of our children now and for in the future. Some of our children have allergies so we need to be careful and have excluded “chemicals” from our home in general. I think you would be hard pressed to find any chemical products in our houseat all. We also would like our children to have a world to live in once we are gone. Lowering the amount of harsh chemicals we use can only help.

That’s the background, now into my rant!

I’ve  used the Cinderella Remove It From Lots Of Stuff Stain Remover. No surprise here given that in a large family everybody gets in to help with cleaning, BUT this product works like I couldn’t believe.

I used it to clean the inside of a rather dirty oven as I didn’t have any oven cleaner (read: too lazy to look for it)…. I can’t express to you how good this stain remover really is; I sprayed the glass on the inside of the door and base of the oven with the stain remover and left it to sit for about 3 minutes. The oven was cold and with a cold damp cloth (again too lazy to go get the microfibre cloth!!) I was able to wipe 90% of the oil and grease off without any hard rubbing. Now with a big family I do a lot of cooking in the oven and Cate bakes every second day, so when i say the oven was DIRTY i mean it was dirty.

Big Deal your thinking? 

Just remember this is a plant based 100% biodegradable stain remover not a harsh petroleum distillates, chlorine, ammonia or phosphates filled oven cleaner. That will blow your socks off at 30 paces!

I then washed out the cloth in hot tap water (and not a lot either given or very tight water issue at the moment) and with very little effort wiped the oven over and the remainder of the oil and grease came off. The oven was clean, no mess, no grime and no chemical stench.  For me this is a big deal, I thought I was in for an hour of scrubbing out a rather dirty oven…..

NOW imagine if I’d taken the time to actually read the directions before just firing off a few suirts into the oven, quite possibly I could have got away with just one wipe over!!!!! Better still what if I had not been too lazy to go and find the Cinderella Passionfruit Super Fast Oven and BBQ Cleaner?  But thats a little difficult at the moment, Its out of stock!!!

Based on my experience I can highly recommend that if you ever need a true stain remover that is organic based, not filled with chemicals and is friendly to the environment, you and your family (oh and your oven if you want to be a bit lazy like I was), this one is it….

Realistically it’s not even expensive. We offer the stain remover for $6.95 in a ready to use and reusable spray bottle.

Please take a look: The Elements at Eumundi:Lifestyle Sanctuary

 

What are head lice?

Head lice are small creatures approximately 3 – 5mm in length that live exclusively on human hair and feed off the blood of humans. A live adult is called a louse, its egg is called a nit and a newly hatched louse is called a nymph. They range in colour from white-ish to brown. The average life span of a louse is 35 days. An adult female can lay up to 8 eggs per day for around 16 days.

Head lice or pediculosis capitis for the scientific types, is an infestation which occurs on the human head.
We know head lice have been around for thousands of years. In fact research suggests that the earliest forms of head lice emerged 1.8 million years ago! Around the same time that humans started to differentiate from homo erectus! These pesky creatures have cleverly adapted themselves to live in an extreme range of environmental conditions – all they really need to survive is warmth and blood.

The words “head lice” or “nits” as they are colloquially known, make parents cringe all over the world. The stigma attached to having head lice is universal, however how unwarranted. Head lice will live in clean or dirty hair, they don’t discriminate. Around 25% of all Australian school children have live head lice on any given day. So in a classroom of 30 kids – at least 7 in every room have head lice. Studies have found rates as high as 70% in some Queensland classrooms!

Just the very thought is enough to make you start scratching. Your child having head lice is nothing to be ashamed of. We need to get past this stereotype of head lice being a sign of poor parenting, and just get onto trying to control them! We need to stop asking “who gave my child nits?” as this really doesn’t help and the sad fact is that your child has probably given the head lice to just as many other children.

How does having head lice effect my child?

This is a good question, and one that is often lost in the whole stigma. Firstly, it should be noted that head lice themselves do not spread disease, however when a child starts scratching and breaking the skin they are leaving themselves open to a secondary bacterial infection, which can cause problems.

The main affect head lice have on children is itching. This is a key sign to look out for as a parent of care giver. A child who seems to be frequently scratching their head or neck should be checked for head lice. See the section on “how to check for head lice“.

Head lice feed four times a day, each time they feed they bite through the scalp of the child to feed on the blood. The itching is caused by the saliva injected at the bite to stop the blood from clotting, this causes irritation to most humans. Multiple bites combined with itching from the child can quite often also lead to inflammation of the scalp.or untreated cases of head lice can almost certainly affect a child’s ability to achieve academically, and make and keep friends.

How to check for head lice

Some children with head lice show no signs! Never assume because you child is not itching that they have no head lice. ALL children should be checked for head lice once a week.

Dry Method

1. Situate your child with adequate lighting, either in direct sunlight, under a lamp or use a torch if no other sufficient light is available.

2. Start at the nape (base of the hairline at the back of the neck) and use the tail of a comb to section off approximately 1cm of hair. Check for both adult lice and eggs. Anything that moves should be of concern! The eggs (nits) appear and oval shaped white/beige dots on a hair shaft usually close to the scalp. These may look a little like dandruff, but unlike dandruff they don’t brush off easily.

3. Repeat this process from the nape to the crown, then follow the same process from each ear to the crown. Lastly section the hair from the forehead through the crown, checking each section thoroughly.

4. If any head lice or eggs are found the child should be treated. (See our section “How to treat head lice“)

Conditioner Method

1. Situate your child with adequate lighting, either in direct sunlight, under a lamp or use a torch if no other sufficient light is available.

2. Apply conditioner to dry hair, ensuring that all hair is coasted with a layer of conditioner from root to tip. Massage conditioner through hair and leave for a minute or two.

3. Detangle the hair using a regular comb. For especially long or thick hair, use a wide toothed detangling comb, followed by a regular comb.

4. Start at the nape (base of the hairline at the back of the neck), section off a small portion of hair and slowly comb through the hair with a nit comb. (Independent studies have shown the cheap plastic version to be just as effective as the more expensive metal version)

5. After passing through one section of the hair, wipe the conditioner from the comb onto a tissue, paper towel or white towel. Inspect the conditioner for signs of adult lice and eggs.

6. Continue sectioning the hair and combing through from the scalp right to the tip. Be sure to wipe the comb after each pass through and check for lice or eggs.

7. Repeat the process from the nape to the crown, then follow the same process from above each ear to the crown. Lastly section the hair from the forehead through the crown, passing the come through each section from scalp to tip and wiping the conditioner from the comb after every pass through.

8. If any head lice or eggs are found, the good news is you’ve already removed some. You will, however, still need to treat the child. (See our section, “how to treat head lice“)

An untreated infestation of head lice will not go away! The longer you leave head lice the harder they are to treat and remove

Are head lice treatments dangerous?

As we learn more and more about the effects of the products we use on our family every day, we start to question what chemicals we are using on our children. You should be aware of the dangers of using some head lice treatments on your family. We have provided information below on the contents of Insecticidal head lice treatments for you to make an informed decision on whether or not to use these products.

Insecticidal Head Lice Treatments

Permethrin - is a common synthetic chemical which is used as an insecticide on wheat and cotton crops. It is also used to kill parasites on chickens and other poultry. It is not known to harm most mammals and birds and is poorly absorbed by the skin. It is however, highly toxic to fish, insects and cats. It has also recently been linked to the poisoning of dogs when used for tick prevention.

Permethrin functions as a neurotoxin, affecting the neuron membranes causing paralysis in its victims.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has classified Permethrin as a carcinogenic. It is shown to cause lung and liver tumors in mice. In laboratory tests it has been shown to inhibit the activity of the immune system and cause chromosome aberrations in both human and hamster cells.

According to the Australian Office of Health Protection – Permethrin is slightly irritating to the skin and eyes of rabbits and causes skins sensitisation in guinea pigs. The following quote is taken from the website of the department of health: ” Permethrin-based products tend to be of low toxicity but their irritation potential varies, ranging from nil to moderate depending on their strength and on the properties of other chemicals in the product. Similarly, some permethrin products cause allergic skin reactions whereas others do not. Information on human toxicity of permethrin is limited, but paraesthesia (numbness, itching, tingling and burning sensations) has been reported.”

Bioallethrin - is a raw synthetic material used for the manufacture and preparation of insecticides. It is used in insecticides on potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes, melons and more.

The World Heath Organisation toxicology assessment of Biollethrin shows slight to mild skin and eye irritation in rabbits. The WHO hazard classification of Biollethrin is class II – moderately hazardous.

Malathion - aka maldison, is an organophosphate insecticide of relatively low human toxicity. It is widely used in agriculture and residential landscaping for mosquito control.

Malathion is used in a range of head lice products with claims that it kills all head lice and eggs, however UK studies show it to be only 36% effective on adult lice and even less so on eggs.

Malathion is classified by US EPA as having “suggestive evidence of carcinogenicity but not sufficient to assess human carcinogenic potential.” This suggests that there has not been enough research done to rule Melation out as a carcinogenic. Tests on rats have shown liver tumors to be present but only after excessive exposure to Malathion.

Pyrethrin - Pyrethrin I and Pyrethrin II are a pair of natural organic compounds that have potent insecticidal activity. Pyretrhins are contained in the seed cases of Pyrethrums (Chrysanthemums), these are grown commercially to supply the insecticide.

Pyrethrins are neurotoxins that attack the nervous system of all insects. Care should be taken using this substance around humans and animals. Overdose and toxicity can cause a variety of symptoms, especially in pets, including drooling, lethargy, muscle tremors, vomiting, seizures and death. Cornell University (USA) studies have reported the following toxicity symptoms in humans – asthmatic breathing, sneezing, nasal stuffiness, headache, nausea, incoordination, tremors, convulsions, facial flushing and swelling, and burning and itching sensation.
Pyrethrin is extremely toxic to fish and marine life, moderately toxic to birds, and significantly toxic to bees.

Effective head lice treatment

1. Use a water spray bottle to dampen the hair thoroughly. If you do not have access to a spray bottle, use your hands to splash water on the head and thoroughly dampen the hair. Avoid getting into the shower to do this to save water. You need the hair to be damp, but not dripping wet.

2. Comb the hair through with a regular comb, and then systematically rub the EnviroCare Head Lice Treatment Shampoo through the hair. Pay particular attention to the area around the nape and the hair above and behind the ears. An average head of short-medium hair should require 4 – 6 pumps from the 375ml bottle (roughly 20mls)

3. Make sure the shampoo is worked through evenly and massaged from the roots through to the tips of the hair.

4.Generally the hair should not be dripping so can be left uncovered, but if you are concerned cover the hair with a shower cap or plastic film.

5.Leave the shampoo in the hair for a minimum of 10 minutes, don’t be stressed if you get distracted – we have left this on for 30 minutes without any adverse effects.

6. Be mindful or any allergic reactions, whilst the product is organic and does not contain any harmful chemicals there is still (minimal) potential for individuals to be allergic to any particular ingredient.

7. At the completion of the 10 minute period the product can be washed out in the shower or under running water.

8. A fun experiment at this stage is to towel dry the hair with a white towel and check out the number of annihilated creatures you can find!

9. Whilst it is not necessary to go crazy washing bedding and fumigating your home, it would be recommended to wash the towel and pillow case of the affected person in hot water.

10. After towel drying the hair massage the EnviroCare Treatment Conditioner through the hair. You can use an alternative conditioner if you prefer, but we have found this conditioner to be the most successful. Ensure that all hair is coated by the conditioner from root to tip. Massage conditioner through and leave for a minute or two.

11. Detangle the hair using a regular comb. For especially long or thick hair, use a wide toothed detangling comb, followed by a regular comb.

12. Start at the nape (base of the hairline at the back of the neck), section off a small portion of hair and slowly comb through the hair with a nit comb. (Independent studies have shown the cheap plastic version to be just as effective as the more expensive metal version).

13. After passing through one section of the hair, wipe the conditioner from the comb onto a tissue, paper towel or towel.

14. Repeat the process from the nape to the crown, then follow the same process from above each ear to the crown. Lastly section the hair from the forehead through the crown, passing the come through each section from scalp to tip and wiping the conditioner from the comb after every pass through.

15. After combing through the EnviroCare Treatment Conditioner through the hair, there is no need to wash out. Leaving this in the hair helps protect from re-infestation.

16. Repeat this process again in 4-7 days to deal with any new eggs which may have hatched – no head lice treatment is 100% effective in the killing of eggs.

EnviroCare Head Lice Treatment

What’s in EnviroCare Head Lice Shampoo?

Purified water, Coconut Amido Betaine, (coconut oil derived), lauroamphoacetate (vegetable derived), sarcosine (natural amino acid), tea tree oil, cold pressed virgin olive oil, coconut oil fatty acid (thickener), Vegetable glycerine, cocoyl glutamate, orange sweet essential oil, lemon grass essential oil

What’s NOT in EnviroCare Head Lice Shampoo?

* No petrochemicals
* No caustic lyes
* No SLS no SLES
* No proply or glycol
* No Pyrethrins
* No Malethion
* No Bioallethrin
* No Permethrin

Other advantages

* Septic & sewerage systems safe
* NO animal testing
* Readily biodegradable
* pH neutral – gentle on sensitive scalps
* proven effective in the fight against headlice
* non hazardous, suitable for all ages
* use instead of regular shampoo, no need to purchase two separate products
* concentrated and cost effective
* recyclable packaging

Head Lice Kits are available at : Treat Head Lice

If you require further information on the Head Lice TreatmentKits, pleaee contact me via the contact page.

Thanks

Rick

My search to find a legal firm to assist us with the set up of the charity  really is not going how I imagined. I’ve contacted a number of large Brisbane based law firms via their Pro Bono coordinators and all but one has not been able to offer any assistance. There still is one firm considering our request and i really hope they might be able too. I understand that pro bono takes away from a businesses bottom line and am grateful that each firm has been very polite in considering my request. But i did really think that one business might have been able to spare a few hours to help us set the charity up correctly so as to not jeopardize our future applications for Tax exemptions etc. 

I have also submitted an application to QPILCH for some assistance but I feel this service is more for those of us with real legal issues and no funds.

Cate has now updated her blog with the overview of the plan for the charity and what it is we plan to achieve. If you get the opportunity, please have a quick look at the About The Project tab on Cates Blog.

There is also the How To Help page on Cates Blog that identifies what assistance we are after to move forward.

I’m sure by now that if you use Twitter and are following @rickads you would have seen my endless Tweets for a few products. The reasoning behind this is that 50% of all profits from The Elements website and Treat Head Lice website are donated to Cates charity. Also 50% of any affiliate marketing income I can generate is also donated to Cates Charity.

 So I’m doing all i can to market this select few products/sites. I’m more then happy to do so for any donators/supporters of the charity as well.

Also if there is anybody out there that might have a few spare minutes to set me straight on internet marketing and i don’t mean the “give us your money and here you go rubbish”, but real tricks of the trade that might assist me to raise the funds needed to be able to pay for a solicitor to get the charity registered, I would be greatly appreciative.

Thanks for taking the time to have a read of another rant.

Rick