Yes, there are people out there who prefer to cling to the adage that if something is too good to be true, it probably is. While this mantra may hold weight when it comes to things like get rich quick schemes, with regards to cloth diapers it's a safe bet that these wonders are very, very good. Still, some parents are reluctant to try them, and deliver any number excuses. Let's take a look at the top five and see how they stack up against parental concerns.
1) Cloth diapering isn't really cost effective. It's natural to check the prices of an individual cloth diaper and suffer mild sticker shock. When you're shopping for diapers for the first time, you'll see one cloth priced around fifteen to twenty dollars as opposed to 20-30 disposables for the same price and think you're getting the better deal if you buy the latter. Think harder about it, and you'll realize you can buy ten cloth diapers for about two hundred dollars, and those disposables will cost much more over three years as you buy box after box to keep your baby dry.
Yeah, yeah, we're ready for the "but the cost of cleaning and the water bill" argument. Of course, you're not going to toss a diaper loaded with baby poop in the washer. However, taking a few seconds to wash off the excess (usually with a quick dunk in the toilet) and running a small load may not make so much a difference in your water usage. Talk to anyone who uses cloth, and do the math to see how it can work in your favor.
2) I can't use cloth diapers on my baby at night, they won't work. Really, now? Makes you wonder what parents did back in the day before disposables were invented. Certainly they didn't have their babies sleep in an empty tub, or set them on some kind of contraption that captured all the icky stuff.
Your baby can wear a cloth diaper at night, and you won't wake in the morning to a horrible mess. When you use a pocket diaper with a good cover, perhaps doubling on inserts if you think there will be heavy flow, you'll find your baby is just as dry as he would be with a pair of Huggies. If you're thinking of transitioning and this is the deal breaker, buy one with a few inserts and give it a night time test drive, and gauge the results from there.
3) We can't travel with cloth diapers, it's such a hassle. Again, you have to wonder how our forefathers managed to expand to the west coast if they couldn't move their families due to such concerns! Whether you're going away for the weekend, or embarking on a lengthy vacation, don't feel you have to make a temporary move to disposables to make the trip easier. You can store all the baby's essentials in your travel bag, just make sure you bring along a special wet bag for the soiled cloths and some detergent. Thanks to technology it isn't difficult to track down a Laundromat if needed, and hotels do offer laundry service. Be resourceful and do your research before you leave the house.
4) I'll just have to buy more anyway as my baby grows. Well, maybe, maybe not. It is possible you may need to replace a cover or two as you go along, but if you know where to shop, you'll be surprised to know that some brands are actually adjustable. The covers feature snaps that fit to your baby, so when he grows, you simply use different snaps. Brands like bumGenius!, FuzziBunz, and GroVia offer diapers one could feasibly use from birth through the potty training years.
5) All those soiled diapers are going to stink up the house. No lie, even if you buy a pail for disposables and use a scented liner, you still risk a stench. So don't think that cloth diapers are any worse; in fact, you can head off the problem with a good pail, strong liner, and scented inserts that handle the odor. You likely will not wash diapers daily, but you can keep a pail around for several days until it's time to do a load without needing a gas mask to enter the nursery.
When you think about it, too, five dirty cloth diapers as opposed to twenty disposables...which do you think will stink more?
Any more arguments against the cloth alternative? Before you doubt, try them out!
Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on cloth diapers and green parenting tips.
