Woman World Web

May 4th, 2009 by Jane Bear

Just as proper nutrition is important for your baby’s welfare, so is hygiene and cleanliness. Babies have little or no control over their bodily functions, so they expel a lot of waste, and keeping them clean can be a daunting task.

It is a fact that, less than thirty years ago, disposable diapers were considered something of a luxury while today they are the norm and people using cloth diapers for their babies are considered to be strange. There are several reasons that modern parents may choose to utilize a cloth diaper instead of a disposable diaper; however, and in some circles cloth diapers are making a bit of a comeback.

The biggest personal reason that a parent may opt to clothe her baby’s bottom in cotton diapers as opposed to disposable diapers is financial. Cloth diapers are simply cheaper than disposable nappies.

Using a cloth diaper is healthier for your child. Babies that use cloth tend to have fewer incidents of diaper rashes. Cotton diapers are made of natural materials, so are less likely to cause skin problems, such as rashes and allergic reactions.

Cotton diapers place less stress on landfills. If thrown into a landfill, cotton diapers decompose within six months. However, with the type of materials used and the amount of processing disposable diapers go through, they remain in landfills for around 500 years.

Gone are the days of complicated folding methods and misplaced safety pins because today’s cloth diapers are pre cut and shaped to cover baby’s nether regions quickly and easily. Now, they also come with Velcro fasteners or snaps for ease in fastening. The best feature of all is that many now have a flushable, biodegradable paper lining that will catch solid waste, allowing it to be easily disposed of in the toilet, so soiled and smelly diapers don’t sit around, and there is no messy job of rinsing the solids away.

Children who wear cloth diaper tend to get toilet trained earlier, since the cloth retains moisture, permitting the child to feel when it is dirty and wet causing them to associate the feeling with elimination.

Only a very small percentage of parents are currently using a cloth diaper 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 diapers.