Ticks and kids.

The riskiest tick — a blacklegged tick nymph — is barely visible. Most parents who have pulled a tick off a kid had it for hours or days before noticing because they were looking for something larger.

The full check takes about a minute. Ticks are drawn to warm, hidden, slightly damp spots — the parts of the body kids don’t generally inspect themselves. Run it like a checklist top to bottom.

1. 1

   Through the scalp and hairline with fingertips. Part the hair, especially behind the ears.

2. 2

   Behind and inside the ears. A favourite spot for nymphs.

3. 3

   Neck and the back of the neck down to the shoulders.

4. 4

   Armpits. Lift each arm.

5. 5

   Waistband and bellybutton. The waistband of underwear is a common attachment point.

6. 6

   Behind the knees. Bend the leg, check the crease.

7. 7

   Groin and between the legs. Worth doing during a bath. Don’t skip this — it’s one of the most common attachment sites in kids.

8. 8

   Between toes and the soles of the feet.

The goal is to make tick checks feel like normal body maintenance, not a frightening ritual. Two things that help:

• Make it about being outside, not about avoiding it.Tick checks are the cost of getting to play in the woods. Frame it as the “coming home routine,” like rinsing sand off after the beach.
• Show them what to look for. Older kids can do their own tick check on legs and arms once they know what a nymph looks like. A poppy seed on a white plate is a useful visual.
• Don’t over-explain Lyme.Most kids don’t need to know about Bell’s palsy or facial weakness. They need to know that ticks can make you sick if left on, and the check finds them early.
• Show calm when removing. A tick on a child is uncomfortable, not an emergency. Tweezers, straight pull, clean the bite, save the tick on a card, move on with the day.

The general escalation tiers apply to children the same way they apply to adults — see the risks page for the full version. A few child-specific notes:

• Tell the school nurseif your child was bitten on a school trip or at outdoor day camp. Not because there’s an urgent action item, but because if other kids develop symptoms later, the school’s timeline matters.
• Check the after-school care policy.Many summer camps and outdoor education programs in Lyme-endemic areas now do tick checks at end-of-day. If yours doesn’t, ask why.
• Pack permethrin-treated clothing for camp. Sawyer Permethrin-treated socks and pant legs hold up for the full season and are by far the best protection in tall-grass settings.
• If your child is in a Lyme-endemic region, tell their family doctor before tick season starts. Knowing your kid was outdoors in (e.g.) southern Nova Scotia in July changes what the doctor watches for when a fever shows up in August.

• How to safely remove a tick — same for kids as adults: fine tweezers, straight pull.
• Prevention — clothing, repellents, permethrin.
• Tick identification — what was that, anyway.
• For my pet — for households where both the kids and the dog spend time outside.