There are a lot of good reasons to use cloth diapers.
Probably the one you hear most often is the Eco-friendly aspect. After all, once a paper diaper hits the landfill, they take (as I recall) an estimated 300 years to decompose.
But honestly, while it’s nice to be able to pat myself on the back for doing good, as someone who doesn’t live right next to a landfill, the Eco-friendly aspect is a little far off to be really motivating.
No, the big reason I cloth diaper is vey simple: it’s low stress.
Isn’t that ironic? How many mothers do I know who paper diaper for exactly the same reason? But hear me out.
Cloth diapering takes the stress of diapering because the continuos outflow money is minimal. Cloth diapering economics are pretty simple.
What I’m saying is that I don’t have any pressure to potty train early, because its not costing me money to keep using diapers.
I don’t feel guilty when I change a diaper, or buy yet another package of disposables.
There’s no tension between my husband and me over diapering and potty training. I can’t tell you how many mothers have told me about the resentment diapering and potty training has caused between them and their spouse.
On the one hand, the spouse who is the primary breadwinner wants to potty train the kids early so they can quit spending so much on diapers, while the primary Child care-taker feels that the child isn’t ready, or that they’re not ready to put such a huge task on their plate.
And that resentment sums up exactly why I love cloth diapers so much.
Nobody’s going to quibble about spending $5 every couple months on laundry detergent.
P.S. You have no idea how hard it is to get a 13-month-old to stand still for diaper pictures.
Does potty training frustrate the daylights out of you? It doesn’t have to! Check out this fabulous eBook by Becky Mansfield on How to Potty Train In A Weekend!
While I didn’t follow this method exactly, I did use some or the principles, and I think it can be customized to fit the needs of almost anyone!
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Mirlandra @ MirlandrasKitchen says
Thanks! I have not read this perspective before.
Shannon B says
I have been debating with myself about cloth diapering (I am 4 months pregnant with my third child). Still haven’t decided but this article gave me a big reason in the PRO category. Thanks for the insight..
sarah says
I started using cloth diapers because I had a fear of running out of diapers in the middle of the week when funds are low. Also the fact that we were taking 2 bags a trash our compared to one a week. I fell in love with them in a week. I was using prefolds and cover.