New Cloth Diapers and Early Potty Training
Disposable diapers have made the old-fashioned cloth diaper squares fastened with a pin a thing of the past, but there are a lot of good reasons for taking a fresh look at cloth.
Good For The Environment
First of all, disposable diapers are not really disposable. They don't just disappear into thin air when you put them in the garbage!
The average child toilet trained at 2 ½ uses around 5,000 diapers. If they take longer, and many children wearing disposables potty train much later, it's correspondingly more.
Over 16 billion diapers are being disposed of every year in the United States alone! About 1% of all landfill are diapers and whereas human excrement is normally processed in sewage plants, this does not apply to diapers. This leads to health concerns as there could be contamination of underground water supplies.
Cloth diapers on the other hand can be reused, passed on to a second child and recycled. Cloth may use more water and energy in the home but the costs are still much lower for the consumer than buying disposables. Parents can also feel they are doing their bit for the environment by switching to cloth.
Costs
Depending on the type of cloth diaper you choose, costs over 30 months can be as little as $0.06 per change or around $380 altogether, including the costs of the diapers, wraps, washing, drying etc.
The most deluxe diapers might cost you as much as $0.23 per change or $1678 inclusive of washing over 30 months. Disposables on the other hand cost around $0.36 per change, which adds up to $2578 for 30months of diapers. That's a lot of saving.
Types of Cloth Diapers
The modern baby is spoiled for choice when it comes to the wide variety of cloth diapers available: from simple pre-folded diapers with waterproof covers for the budget conscious, to fancy all-in-one fitted diapers shaped like disposables, fastened with Velcro or snaps for very easy changes that even Dad can manage. They are available in a variety of materials from organic wool & cotton to hemp or regular cloth.
Diaper Services
Many companies offer diaper services, where they will come and pick up the dirty diapers and deliver fresh clean ones to your door. This is more expensive than washing them yourself, but it is still usually cheaper than buying disposables.
Advantages
An important consideration is that it is healthier for boy babies to be in cloth. Disposables tend to overheat the diaper area, which should be kept cool in boys and this maybe one reason why there are more young men with fertility problems these days.
Babies who wear cloth diapers are much more able to recognise when they are wet or have ‘pooped' and usually potty train easier and earlier than babies in disposables. |