On Saturday morning, shortly after getting my daughter out of bed, I noticed LOTS of bites on her. Mostly on her arms. I didn’t notice them Friday night, but they may have just not showed up until morning (mosquito bites show up the next day on me). They don’t look like mosquito bites and I KNOW we don’t have fleas at our house. We always use Frontline on our pets and besides, fleas love my husband and anytime he’s around fleas, he is immediately attacked by them. My babysitter just got a puppy a couple of weeks ago and I’m thinking she might have fleas already, but how the heck do you POLITELY ask someone about that? She is going there again this Thursday and Friday and the bites she has now should be healed by then, at least for the most part and I’d hate to expose her once again and let her get ate up. Any suggestions on what I should do?
Gee…I guess my skin’s a bit thicker than most, but sometimes I think people worry too much about offending, to the point that it keeps them from doing something necessary and correct.
1. This person has a business. It involves the care of your child/ren.
2. Your child has bites. You’re wondering if it’s fleas.
3. So what is offensive about saying, “My child has marks that look like flea bites. I know you have a new puppy, so I’m wondering whether you’ve treated him with preventative?”
The puppy could have CAME HOME with fleas. It’s not indicative of any sloppiness on the sitter’s part. Dogs get fleas.
If they’re offended by you asking…I’d have to wonder what sort of people you’re trusting with your kids.
Ask her if you can help clean her dog and if she lets, you’ll know if it has fleas or not. Or, you could get your husband to go next to the babysitter’s dog and see if any fleas come out.
.Politely?? point blank I took my daughter to her doctor and she said she has flea bites ..I don’t have a dog..and the only other place she frequents is your place.Lets go in on some Advantage or Frontline together so both my daughter and you dog are healther.
Just call her or talk to her and let her know that since your daughter was at her house, she’s developed a ton of bites and that you’re concerned there might be something at her house biting her. See if she volunteers the information for you.
Just ask nicely and avoid being accusatory or domineering about it. If she denies anything and you know it came from her house, time to find another sitter.
the best that I can think of is
I don’t know from where she got those bites could It be a fly, perhaps some kind of flea? Do you know where could be fleas around here?
If that is not an option try giving her as a gift a couple of anti-flea collars for her dogs because you “have too many”
You shouldn’t feel you’re being impolite by asking such a question. You have every right to know that. Regardless of her answer, you will know if your daughter comes home with more bites the next time. Then you can deal with the problem, or find another sitter.
It could be bites, but it could be an allergic reaction as well. Would she have used a sunscreen on her on anything like that? Or bathed her with a different soap? If it isn’t that type of thing, you could be fairly open with her because the puppy is new – asking if she is doing anything special for it – like special food or toys and then you could mention how important it is to also get them started on heartworm meds and flea meds right from the beginning (because that’s what you did and it really helped etc. etc.)
It’s worth a try. Does she have children? If it continues, I would just straight out mention your concern and ask her if she has noticed any bites or rashes on her or her kids if she has them.
Hope this helps.
Just ask her…Your kid is not a meal tick for her fleas. If she can’t keep her home safe for your kid even against fleas than she doesn’t need to be watching your child. Point Blank! You can’t be nice and polite sometimes when it comes to protecting your kids.
I think I would call her now, before your scheduled visit and ask what she is using for fleas for her puppy. If she says anything but Frontline or Advantage, I would let her know that veterinarians feel that a flea collar, Zodiac etc don’t work and you have found some bites on your daughter. You would like her to get Frontline or Advantage from her vet and use it before your daughter comes on Thursday. I hope this helps and works for you.
Dogs can pick up fleas anywhere – it doesn’t mean she is unclean or anything like that. So just tell her your daughter has bites, you’ve checked your house and found nothing – so you suspect the puppy has fleas. Then together format a plan for how to deal with it.
Even if you do Frontline or Advantage it won’t kill off the fleas right away – there will be another round. Also you don’t want your yound daughter hanging out in a house that’s had flea bombs used in it – not healthy for her Maybe puppy needs to be limited to which rooms he frequents for now, while the sitter does some overtime on vaccuming etc.
good luck
nothing comesh first wen it comes to health n hygine…u b firm n yet be polite and ask her if she has seen any flies in d house and also tell her that since u have seen those bites on babies..she needs to chk if she is evhng ok back in her home….
thats easy.. ask her when is she taking her puppy to the vet to get shots.. let her know say Make sure you get your puppy checked for fleas because when you got your puppy you didnt know that a dog so young could get them adn your husband was all bit up and sure nuff when you took your puppy he/ she had fleas. let her know that it is very bothersome to the puppy. just be casual with her its fine.
maybe u shud take her to the doctor becuz fleas can get diesies i think well best of luckk
Ask her if she has had her puppy treated for fleas and tell her that your daughter is allergic to fleas. Hey, it might be a lie but your daughter won’t get bit.
There’s no real polite way about it…unless you do a secret check of the puppy yourself…pet it and look for the tell tale black “bits” in his fur…those are not fleas but their excrement…if he has fleas then he’ll have this on him…if there is some then just say “Whoops! Fido’s got some unwanted visitors!”
If it’s not possible to check then say to her…”mary had a weird rash last week…did you notice anything?” Then you will have something to refer back to should your child come back itchy again.
Does she have pets? Simply ask if she has noticed fleas around. Don’t be demeaning,,just inquisitive. Good luck! ;-)=
When it comes to our children, I’ve learned that while it’s nice to be polite, their safety is after all the most important thing. Some people aren’t affected as much by fleas. For example, they don’t like me much, so hardly bite me at all. I don’t always recognize a flea problem in my own home unless my poor cat is being eaten alive. (Normally I use Frontline also, so unless I’m negligent, it isn’t a problem) Maybe your sitter doesn’t realize if she has a flea problem, and would appreciate it being brought to her attention.
I’d say something like, “We noticed what looked like fleabites on (your daughter’s name), and we don’t have them in our home, so we are wondering if your new puppy is getting them. You may want to check. We use Frontline, and it works well for us.”
OR: You might just try picking up the puppy, to pet it, and checking discreetly. If you see fleas, let the sitter know… “Oh my, he’s getting fleas. Frontline works great for that.” If you’re feeling generous, you might offer to pick some up to drop off the next morning.
See how the sitter reacts, and take it from there. If it remains a problem, and you do in fact know the fleas are coming from there, and she refuses to address the issue or fix it, look for a different sitter, and let her know why. She needs to know that it’s a matter of bad business after all, to allow anything harmful in her home like this (some children may be highly allergic to fleas, and besides, nobody wants their children eaten alive).
You could curiously ask what flea medication her dog is on, if any… if she says none, sugguest that she take the dog to a vet to get it on a medicine as it’s flea season. You can even sugguest frontline as it’s what you use. This way, nobody gets offended.
I would just try asking how she’s liking her puppy, how she’s behaving, and just general questions about the puppy.
A lot of times if you ask stuff like this and the person knows it has fleas or something, they’ll be a little frustrated and might just come out and rant about it a little bit/say that it has fleas and how they’re taking care of it.
Other than that, I would just flat out ask her, but that’s just me^^
Ask her if there is any chance if her puppy might have fleas because my daughter has what looks like flea bites but not sure and would like to rule it out so we can let the doctor know if i have to take her to the hospital. If the pup hasn’t been defleaed then it probably has fleas.
You could say something along the lines of how you just got your animals checked for fleas and that the vet recommended frontline.. suggest she tries it since she just got a new puppy…
Have you checked you daughters bed for bed bugs? The are little brown speck and you would probably see them if you lifted up her matress. They in no way mean you or your house is not clean as they can travel on any clothing.
Just to let you know…Frontline is not working for many dogs anymore. My vet informed me of this. So you may have fleas yourself. But you should also gently ask your babysitter if she has given the new pup any sort of flea medication.
Well put white socks on your daughter and when you go to pick her up say woo i think you have fleas in your house i could see them on my daughters sock.. Then go into how when you first got your pup how most of them have fleas and fleas cause worms in dogs…
Alright. That’s is serious. Just start talking about her puppy with her. Then tell her about a dog you owned. Tell her that your dog had fleas once, then ask her if her dog does. It might work.
just be honest and tell her that you noticed bites on your daughter and wonder if her puppy is on flea treatment.. just tell her that you’ve seen the bites from fleas before and you know you don’t have any in your house… you don’t need to be polite about it bucause her puppy should be up to date on shots and flea treatment if there are kids around
I’m sure anyway is polite as long as you aren’t rude or demeaning. I guess if you just express your concern for your child she should understand.
say hey, my daughter had a bunch of flea bites on her saturday morning when she woke up, i thought maybe my dogs got them somehow, but i had them checked & they dont, i just wanted to see if maybe she could of got them friday when you watched her, since that was the last place she was before they appeared? …i would hate to expose her to that again & put her through the discomfort.