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Cloth or Disposable Nappies / Diapers

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Category: Questions and Answers
Last Modified: 17 July 2012

Q: I have a month old baby and my husband and I are wondering whether to use cloth or disposable nappies?

 

A: It is recommended to use cloth nappies / diapers for several reasons. Disposable nappies / diapers are a modern invention for the convenience of parents that goes against nature.

The disposable nappies are designed to keep the baby dry and hold so much liquid. This is great if you dislike changing nappies.Cloth nappies / diapers are not as convenient to clean up and may need constant changing, but there are nappy services around that can help you with the washing of the diapers if you opt to. There are also such things as nappy liners that can help with the BM’s. Using cloth nappies is more beneficial than disposables for many reasons. Cloth nappies help with the early beginnings of toilet training, since children learn about their bodies and about toileting through the experience. Disposable nappies negate the sensation to the result when urination occurs. Children do not feel wet when they have urinated and well so they do not have an understanding of what is going on with their bodies. Cloth nappies on the other hand allow the child to feel the sensation of wetness associated with urinating. When they feel wet and are uncomfortable, change them immediately so they are used to the clean dry feeling. The earlier the child experiences this the easier it will be to have them toilet trained. There are many stories showing the benefits of using cloth diapers when babies were toilet trained by the age of 12 months. I have also heard of stories of children using inferior types of disposable nappies that make them aware of the wetness and as the result they toilet train earlier than other children.

If your child toilet trains earlier imagine how much money you can save on nappies!

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Comments  

 
#2 Sarah 29-Jul-2010
I have cloth nappies and used them from 7 weeks to15 months with the odd gap in between with disposables. I stopped using washables and felt very guilty, only because I have a medical condition and I get very tired, I just felt i could not cope with everything and with no family I ended up buying natural disposables. I totally agree that they are better and babies potty train quicker, being a montessori teacher myself and a nanny I think they are great. I think i may start using them a little more with disposables.
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#1 Vanessa 01-Jan-2008
I agree with the theory behind using cloth nappies and wish I used them more than the disposable type. Unfortunately, as a very busy mom I didn’t have the time to keep changing diapers as often and especially cleaning them. The few occasions that I did use cloth, I used the liner with it and it worked really well.
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