Why Don’t More Parents Use Cloth Diapers?
I do workshops in my town that gives information on cloth diapers. I do the cost analysis, explain the washing process, etc. etc. but parents still choose disposable anyway. They love the convenience and could care less about anything else. I am a full time working mom and I still have time to do 2 extra loads of laundry a week. It’s so easy to cloth diaper a baby these days, and the environmental factor is huge.
I really think these parents don’t care about the thousands of tons of diapers that our next generation of adults will have to somehow manage. I am so frustrated… I do this workshop for free because I don’t want my kids to suffer in mountains of trash for the rest of their lives.
Tagged with: Cloth • Diapers • Dont • More • Parents
Filed under: Free Baby Stuff
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I actually think this is a great question. I began cloth diapering my daughter when she was 6 months old — my sister in law started her newborn on them and I asked her about all the new styles she had. I would have done it from birth had I been educated on the subject. I think that a lot of parents will never try cloth for their personal reasons, but I think a lot more parents would try them if they were educated on the how and why and actual cost/environmental comparison vs. internet myths and corporate “studies” that are biased and false. I find that when I casually bring up the topic with other moms they are very interested and I have “converted” 2 or 3 friends. People are scared of what they don’t understand regarding cloth diapers — they imagine buckets of bleach water in a poo stew (!) and it’s just not like that. I think what you are doing educating people is great — I talk to anyone who will listen about them but only if they ask. I use all different kinds, and use gel-free disposables on occasion with babysitters and such.
I use cloth. It’s much cheaper and far better for the environment. I use the occastional disposable, but I’d much rather use cloth. They are million times better and they are much easier than people think.
I think most people don’t use them because they don’t realise just how easy they are.
i cloth diaper my baby –
it comes down to convenience over responsibility
responsibility to fill as many landfills as they can, responsibility to put toxins on their babies skin, all for the convenience of watching a few more minutes of tv or sleeping a few more minutes in the morning……..
It is a personal choice that every parent has to make.I choose to use disposables because I don’t want to spend all my time on washing diapers and such..I don’t want to deal with it so I don’t.Plain & Simple.Maybe instead of worrying about what everyone else is doing,we could try & find a way to dispose of garbage better?
First off, I think if you just mind your own business you won’t feel so frustrated.
Secondly, the reason I dont..is b/c I HATE DOING LAUNDRY. And my husband helps me with nothing, nada. so I am lucky to get OUR clothes clean for the week.
If you are SO concerened though, maybe you should buy all the new moms in your area a cloth diapering starter kit, and then come wash the diapers for all of them once a week..let me know how that works out for you : )
Well,woopty freakin do.. It’s their choice. It’s easier. Who wants to wash crappy diapers? Not me..
Besides how about instead,we find a better way to dispose our garbage,instead of trying to make people feel bad for having garbage? Work on that.
its just so much easier and with todays economy with parents working all the time its just so much easier to do, i used cloth for a few months and it was just a pain for me
I never liked cloth diapers…i have always stuck with pampers and they have been great. I really dont want to have to wash cloth diapers…i would rather have a new diaper on my baby. Its a personal choice.
Did you know there are environment safe diapers? Not every body uses them, BUT they do exist and they are cheap. You can find them at target.
I prefer disposables. I don’t care about the environment.
Why don’t more parents mind their own business?
I don’t use cloth because I don’t want to. Plain and simple.
I tried cloth nappies and my son was blighted with nappy rash, no matter how often I changed him, and I found that I simply could not keep up with the washing, good for you if you could, but I didn’t have a tumble drier, it was winter in the UK and I simply could not get them washed and dried quick enough to supply the “demand”.
I know there are velcro nappy sets you can get, but they are around £300.00 for a starter set, half of which they will very quickly outgrow, I simply could not afford that much for an initial layout.
You can buy bio-degradable nappies, but they are not readily supplied in all supermarkets, so sorry and all that, but I buy disposable!
I’ve considered cloth diapers for my next child. I kind of changed my mind after reading a few peoples claims that their water bill went up as much as the cost of disposables from washing the cloth diapers so much. I know I would be very anal about keeping the diapers in good clean condition (mostly because at $20 a diaper I would want to be able to sell them afterwards) so I would be using a lot of water to make sure they didn’t get stains.
I’d like to do my part to save the environment but I think we need to put more blame on the diaper companies for that. If pampers (or any company) would make a biodegradable diaper at the same cost as their regular diapers I would be willing to use them. I might even be willing to pay a little more for biodegradable ones but all I’ve seen for biodegradable diapers are cloth ones with biodegradable lines and they are still $20 per cloth diaper plus the same cost as disposables for the liners. If environmentally friendly was a little more affordable I’m sure more people would be willing to try.
My daughter goes through, on average, 10 diapers a day. I already do laundry every single day, because in my small apartment that I can barely afford to pay rent in, we have a half-size stackable washer and dryer that I can only do a very small load of laundry in.
I would have to do much more than 2 extra loads of laundry a week, which means a higher water bill and electricity bill for me. And, I don’t have the money to go buy 100 cloth diapers right now.
You are more than welcome to come to my home and do all the things I do on a daily basis, as well as my laundry, and provide me with the money for the initial cost of these cloth diapers.
Some possible reasons:
*require a large initial cost – they are much more cost effective over the course of a diapering period, but they require that cost up front, which may not be feasible with budgets.
*access to washers/dryers – families who do not have their own washers and dryers often struggle finding time to do -any- laundry because they have to tote their baby to the laundry room or laundry mat. Those extra couple of loads can add huge stress, and cost for coin op laundry.
*making the decision late in the diapering experience
*unfamiliar with current cloth diapering options
*travel a lot and don’t want to carry a wet bag of dirty diapers
Remember that you can’t force someone to make the right decisions. Diapers do biodegrade, by the way.
Some people have already answered your question.
It goes like this.
1. Convenience – I fully agree with that. In this fast world, we want to get to other things faster.
2. Hygeine – Well, if you are the washer of the cloth diapers, you know the best way to clean. Are not we washing our own intimate clothes ? Its only slightly extra care.
3. Environment – it seems our generation does not care about what happens after 10, 20 or 50 years. I am sure, if we continue to generate waste at this pace, our children and grand children are going to hate us. We take care of their hygeine,mood etc. but we are not interested in their future problems.
Attention Parents – its not only your own business….. its our planet. Hope every one wakes up.
4. By using reusable diapers, you are also kind to trees. Many parents may not know that tons of trees have to be cut to make disposable paper products. We may not plant new trees, but atleast save the trees……………
I used a combination of cloth diapers and disposables. At home I used strictly cloth and when we were out I used disposables. I have to agree with another answer from a cloth user that your question seems judgmental. I live in an urban area. Many young parents around here live in apartments without their own washer and dryer. I don’t think going to a Laundromat would with soiled diapers would be a realistic expectation. And I wouldn’t want to be next in line to use an improperly cleaned washer after the diaper load. Diaper services are an alternative, but they use so many chemicals in the washing process, I’m not so sure it’s better. People do love the convenience of disposables. I think you would do a better job of convincing parents if you accept that people prefer disposables and rather than criticizing their choice, you build up the positive aspects of using cloth.
I use both cloth and disposable. You are right-cloth diapering is just as easy as using disposables nowadays. Gone are the days of pins and plastic liners…washing is not that difficult. It is good for the environment, and a good financial investment.
I do use disposables when we are out and about-we tend to have long trips into town since we live in the country. But I do prefer cloth!
Most people that have negative ideas of cloth diapering are not aware that we are not talking about the Gerber prefolds that you have to fold, pin and use a plastic cover. Mine velcro on just like a disposable, have a built in liner and are cute!
They are generally the same who have no idea what homeschooling is but give negative opinions. They think that since it is called “home” schooling, it must mean we are home all of the time, etc. Old fashioned ideas…
Well, I don’t think it’s because they are bad people. I think, especially for young, busy first-time parents, it’s overwhelming enough having a baby, and everyone will tell you that disposables are much easier (whether that’s true or not.) They are worried about being good parents and spending enough time taking care of their baby’s needs- and they may see cloth diapering as something that will complicate their lives. (Especially since so few of us were raised on cloth diapers, they seem unfamiliar and strange.) Plus there is the initial cost. The costs of cribs, and car seats, and strollers, etc can be very very high. It is hard to shell out all that money for cloth diapers on top of everything else. Maybe they figure they would like to get established taking care of their baby and try cloth later on, and then they get busy and like the disposables and it just never happens.
As for environmental impact, well, that’s confusing too, because some people will tell you the impact of laundering diapers (water, energy, etc) is the same or more than disposables. It’s confusing.
You’re obviously passionate about what you do. Keep the workshop going, I’m sure some people are listening, even if the majority aren’t. And those few who listen will make an impact, and you don’t see all the friends that THEY influence.
To each their own.
I use disposable diapers with my son but that doesn’t make me a “bad” person. I’m not interested in cloth diapering at all and have no urge to use them. That is just me. I am entitled to diaper my son as I wish, just as you are entitled to use cloth diapers.
Maybe I don’t care about the environment, maybe I don’t care about the “mountains of trash” my son will have to suffer in when he grows up, maybe I don’t care about anything else. Whatever it is, it’s MY decision.
I think it’s great you’re offering this workshop for free but that doesn’t necessarily mean people have to/will attend and listen.
I use cloth nappies (as we call them in the UK). It works well for me and my family.
But your question sounds very judgemental. It’s not for you to say what others should do – you don’t know their circumstances. Frankly, it sounds rather like the people who ask, ‘why do people use formula, breastfeeding is the only way to go?’
I parent my children the way that works best for us, it’s not for you or anyone else to say how someone should do it. Would you like it if someone scolded you for being a working mum? Some people think it’s better for the kids to stay at home, but we mind our own business.
I’m a stay at home mom, and I used cloth for about 6 months… Honestly I found them to be a really big and smelly pain. The right kind of detergents and smell control stuff that you have to buy are expensive, as well as the cloth diapers themselves, if you want to buy the convenient ones. I hate the environmental impact that disposables have, I really do. But sometimes it’s easier financially with disposables as well. With cloth you have to start out spending huge amounts of money stocking up on very expensive diapers. With disposables, it’s a little here and a little there. I understand that yes, in the long run it’s better on the wallet and environment with cloth. But it’s a big investment to start with. Not to mention cleaning the cloth diapers!! To get them to not smell, I had to soak them in hot water, and then do like all sorts of crazy cycles. It used up SO much water!! I can understand your frustration though… it’s just not for everyone.
I used both. I’m not sure how evironment friendly cloth diapers are either.
If you consider the factories that make them and the waste they produce, the hot water that is needed to wash them and the power it takes to dry them, be it gas or electricity, we are still wrecking havoc on our environment.
I used cloth because it saved me $$ big time.
*lol, what is a wham? Is that some kind of genie that twinkles their nose and a cloth diaper appears? The textile industries are HUGE polluters, that’s a fact. Just because you have convinced yourself that by using cloth you are magically saving the earth does not mean that I am that easily deceived.
you are so right. Those diapers don’t decompose they will stay in those ditches for hundreds of years. So Not only is Cloth Diapers less expense but it is also good for the environment.
I don’t know how but maybe you need to reach a larger audience? I don’t have kids myself I’m only 17 but when I do have kids I plan on using Cloth Diapers.
drive across texas sometime. there’s miles and miles of room for all the used diapers in the world. the bigger problem with disposable diapers is the chemicals used in the manufacturing process. maybe that would open more people’s eyes?
There aren’t enough people like you to get the word out. Keep it up, you will make a difference by educating people.