Taking a 2nd Look At Cloth Diapers
If you're a new parent, you've probably heard your grandparents
telling you how lucky you are and singing the praises of
disposable diapers. Way back then, the only option was cloth
diapers, which require a ton of laundry work. See, less than
thirty years ago, disposable diapers were considered a luxury.
Nowadays, everyone uses cloth diapers and people that use cloth
diapers for their babies are considered to be odd. There are
several reasons that modern parents might want to use cloth
diapers instead of disposables, and, believe it or not, cloth
diapers are starting to make a bit of a comeback.
The main reason that a parent may choose to start using cloth
diapers instead of the name brand disposables is the cost. Cloth
diapers are much cheaper than disposables, even if the parents
are paying a diaper service to haul away the used diapers and
bring clean ones each week. Disposable diapers can easily cost
well over one hundred dollars per month or more, and you'll be
paying this expense every month for around two years. Many
parents are starting to forgo the convenience of disposables to
save this extra money.
There are also environmental issues to consider. Disposable
diapers are made out of plastic and a pad of absorbent cotton.
Plastic does not biodegrade well at all, which means that our
landfills are filled with diapers that aren't going away anytime
soon. Most people believe that the convenience offered by
disposable diapers outweighs this fact. They might not
consciously make this choice, but their actions speak for
themselves. Environmentalists believe that those who use cloth
diapers are taking one small step which goes a long way to
protect and preserve the Earth for future generations.
Those whiny parents and grandparents might still have a few
bones to pick with today's parents who decide on using cloth
diapers, because the today's cloth diapers are much different
from those that they were using on their own kids and grandkids
several decades ago. They are used to awkward folding and having
to use safety pins to fasten the diaper to the baby. Modern
cloth diapers are pre-cut and shaped to cover the baby's
backside quickly and easily. They also have Velcro fasteners or
snaps to make it easier to secure. One other added feature is
that many cloth diapers now come with a flushable, biodegradable
paper lining hold in solid waste so you can easily flush it down
the toilet. So no more stinky diapers sitting around waiting for
trash pickup day.
Cloth diapers are currently used by only a very small percentage
of parents, but they are still out there and available. Any
parent concerned with the cost or environmental impact of
disposable diapers should seriously consider going with cloth.