Diaper My Baby

The decision on whether to use cloth diapers or disposable diapers can be a difficult decision to make. That is, until you know the facts. With the modern integration of Velcro, snaps, snappis, and all-in-ones cloth diapers, the issue of convenience is no longer a selling point for disposables. Also, disposable diapers create many health issues with your child, pose a large threat to the environment, and end up being very expensive for you. Because of these issues, cloth diapering is becoming more and more popular. Below you can find out the many reasons cloth diapers are better for your baby, better for the environment, and better for you.

If you had a choice, would you choose to wear plastic and paper underwear or would you choose soft cotton? Your baby can't tell you what he wants, so you've got to make the best choice for him.

Although disposable diapers are designed to feel dry, in reality the urine is still trapped inside and the bacteria touches the child's skin until the diaper is changed. Disposable diapers are usually changed far less often than cloth diapers because their “dryness” design means parents don't realize the diaper is dirty and the child doesn't notice they are wet. This makes it impossible for the child to make any connection between going to the restroom and feeling wet, making it more difficult to potty train.

Infrequent diaper changing leads to diaper rash and irritation to your child's skin, meaning an unhappy child and more money spent on diaper rash creams. As well as being uncomfortable, the plastic that disposable diapers are made from trap the ammonia found in urine and doesn't let the skin breathe properly. Disposable diapering causes mild to severe diaper rash in 60-70% of babies, compared to only 7-10% of babies using cloth diapers. Cloth diapers allow for proper air circulation and feel comfortable and soft against your child's delicate skin.

With a cotton cloth diaper you know that there are no chemicals that pose risks to your child's health. Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a substance that absorbs up to 100 times its weight. While sodium polyacrylate means a super absorbent diaper, it also means that your child will be in constant contact with a substance that was removed from tampons in the 1980's because of it's correlation to Toxic Shock Syndrome, a rare but often fatal disease.

In addition, disposable diapers can have traces of dioxin, a by-product of diaper manufacturing that has been shown to cause various conditions including cancer and skin diseases.

Better for the Environment

The environmental damage begins with the manufacturers, who currently use over 82,000 tons of plastic, 1.3 million tons of wood, and 3.4 billion gallons of oil to manufacture the disposable diapers used in the United States alone. And after only one use, possibly 1-2 hours of use, it is thrown away into our overburdened landfills.

Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills (right behind newspapers and food and beverage containers). 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown into landfills each year, some of which will take 500 years to decompose. Some disposables claim they are biodegradable. However this term is used as a selling point and can only be achieved under certain conditions (much like the MPG on cars). Those conditions consist of air and sun exposure so any diaper which is covered will not biodegrade. Cloth diaper-wearing children go through about 6,000 diaper changes. If thrown into a landfill, cotton diapers decompose within six months.

Some advertisers argue that cloth diapering hurts the environment because the frequent washing wastes water and energy. While frequent washes are necessary with cloth diapering, with an appropriate number of diapers the loads can be limited to once every two or three days, using about 50 to 70 gallons of water, which is the equivalent of flushing the toilet five to six times a day. So you can see that once your child is potty trained he or she will be using the toilet and flushing at least that much, so it seems like a wash to us.

Cloth diapering may be the best choice for your baby and the earth, but what about you? Many parents have the misconception that cloth diapering is inconvenient or difficult, when actually the opposite is true. In fact, many cloth converts love cloth diapering and find it quite fun!

The main reason many parents are drawn to using cloth diapers is because of their cost efficiency. Instead of paying exorbitant prices every week at the grocery store for something that will just end up in the trash, cloth diapering allows parents to invest in diapers and diaper covers that will last until the child is potty trained and can be reused for future children.

The money that you would spend every month on disposable diapers could be saved and used to start the baby's college fund or put towards building a tree house in the backyard. Why pay more for something your baby doesn't want?

The convenience of having all the supplies you need at home means you'll never be stuck driving to the store in the middle of the night because you're out of diapers. Any busy parent has enough to do in one day.

With cloth diapers, you can even put an emergency diaper in a separate closet in case you're behind with the laundry. Once they have learned and practiced a couple of times, most parents find folding to be very easy, so if time is an issue you can prepare by folding all the diapers while you watch TV at night, ensuring that the diapers will be ready to go as soon as you need them.

Cloth diapering also often leads to earlier toilet training because the child is aware of needing a diaper change and becomes familiar of the sensations that precede the diaper change. Potty training builds a child's self esteem and gives a family greater freedom when planning day trips or visiting family and friends.

There are so many great reasons to choose cloth diapers over disposables, and now that more light is being shed on the differences between the two, it's not surprising that cloth diapering is becoming a more and more popular choice for the modern, everyday parent. Compared with disposables, cloth diapers are better for you, your child, and the environment. Cloth diapers have come a long way since their beginnings, and are now available in many different designs, fabrics, and colors, so cloth diapering can fit into any lifestyle.