How to blitz nits (and other nasties) by Mumsnet

Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408862155
(Age: Parenting book) This is a parenting book for people who hate parenting books. It portrays the reality of being a parent in a way that politically correct parenting books rarely do. Would they talk about what to do when you child does a poo so epic that it reaches their neck? Or how to stop your child scratching their bum when they have worms?
While witty and limited in scope, this semi-reference book is definitely more useful than it first appears. Factual information mingles with real posts from the English online parenting community Mumsnet; this use of first-hand anecdotes and advice means that it doesn't just tell you what you 'should' do or what is proven to work. There are old wives tales and ingenious (not always medically recommended or socially approved!) solutions to tricky problems (for example, how to pin down a child to administer eye drops or fight molluscum with a toothpick).
It addresses 10 main issues: nits, threadworms, ringworm, warts and veruccas, molluscum, conjunctivitis, foreign objects, vomit, poo, and dragons under the bed. Sometimes as a parent you just need to know someone else has faced the same horrors or that someone else has had it worse and on this level the book provides genuine laugh out loud moments.
It is a funny read, perfect for parents who want to know the essentials but want to take it with a pinch of salt and a few laughs along the way. Simple language peppered with witticism makes this an engaging and quick read and it will probably be reached for again when advice is needed on how to clean vomit out of the couch or de-nit the household.
Nicole Nelson