- My mother used cloth - it's too old fashioned.
2. I just never got around to trying cloth.
You don't have to begin cloth diapering when your first child is a newborn to make the experience worthwhile, either to the environment or your pocketbook. I began cloth-diapering part-time when my son was 8 months old. I didn't progress to full-time until he was closer to 16 months old; until then, I still put him in disposables when we left the house. I am now CDing full-time, using his old diapers on my daughter! Unless your youngest child is out of diapers completely, or will be soon, there is probably a cloth diapering solution that will save you money (and save the environment).
3. My child's skin is too sensitive for cloth diapers.
This is an interesting argument, because it boils down to what sort of skin sensitivities your child has, and what you do about it. There is some debate about whether cloth diapers are better or worse for children prone to diaper rashes, and from what I have read, there is no real consensus. Diaper rashes are caused either by skin irritation due to wetness, or by allergies. Disposable diapers whisk moisture away from the skin, whereas cloth diapers keep moisture up against the skin, and so when disposables first became available, they were heralded as the solution to diaper rashes. However, because disposables hold more liquid, parents began leaving their children in soiled diapers longer, waiting until the diaper was full rather than changing it as soon as it was wet (something you cannot do with cloth diapers because it will cause them to leak). This practice, when combined with the over 200 chemicals found in standard disposable diapers, has led to just as many diaper rashes as cloth ever did.
If your child reacts immediately or violently to a wet diaper, then disposables may be the solution, but only if you change them every 2-3 hours, as you would a cloth diaper. However, if your child has chemical sensitivities (my daughter develops a diaper rash within an hour or two of wearing any disposable), cloth could be the solution. If your child has a chemical reaction to cloth diapers, please change your laundry detergent immediately.
4. Cloth diapering is gross (I don't want to handle poo!)
No one wants to handle poopy diapers. I completely understand - I am very squeamish, and I HATE to get my hands dirty. I plan to address how to efficiently wash cloth diapers in another post, but I will deal with it briefly, here.
While I understand not wanting to handle poo, there are a couple of problems with this argument. The first is the premise that you won't have to handle poo if you use disposable diapers. Sorry, but any mother who has had an infant knows this isn't the case. There will be leaks, blow-outs, accidents, and of course, there is always the need to wipe up afterward. Parents kind of get used to handling poo. If you accept that, at several points during your child's youth (even when using disposables) you will get poo on your hands, perhaps cloth won't seem as scary.
Even more importantly, human waste in landfills is considered a serious health hazard. The World Health Organization, the CDC, and the APHA recommend that ALL human waste be FLUSHED, regardless as to whether or not it was caught in a disposable or cloth diaper. Many parents don't realize this, because only socially-responsible companies such as 365 (Whole Foods) and Seventh Generation brand diapers actually list the instructions to flush human waste on their disposable diaper packaging. However, Pampers and Huggies both list these instructions on their websites, if you know where to look (and believe me, most people don't). If you do use disposables, PLEASE FLUSH ALL OF THE SOLID WASTE DOWN THE TOILET. Water-treatment plants exist to clean up this disease-carrying material. If you are being environmentally responsible, you will end up handling poo in any case.
5. Cloth diapers leak.
If your cloth diapers leak, there is one of three reasons for it. First, cloth diapers need to be changed regularly. In my experience, once you're past the newborn stage, cloth diapers should be changed every 2-3 hours. If you let them go longer, you may get leaks (since the liquid has no place to go).
Second, you may have crummy diapers. The standard Gerber cloth that you can find at Target or Walmart is not going to hold very much or fit your baby snugly. gDiapers were a great idea, and they have brought cloth into more mainstream establishments (both Babies R Us and Whole Foods carry gDiapers, but no other cloth brand diapers), but I've actually yet to meet anyone who liked them (although I'm sure they must be out there...) Diapers with hemp or microfiber absorption will do a better job than the heavily-processed cotton you can buy at BRU.
Finally, even the best diapers will leak if the fit is wrong. Much like disposable-users choosing between Pampers and Luvs, cloth-users will have to decide between Thirsties and Motherease, and between one-size-fits-all and sized-to-fit diapers. Even fancy pocket diapers like Bum Genius and FuzziBunz have a particular fit to them, and it can take a couple of tries to figure out what works for your baby. This sounds like more work than it actually is, but I do recommend that parents considering cloth buy a couple from each group of diapers instead of purchasing an entire diaper system up front, to get a feel for what works for you.
6. Cloth diapers are too expensive.
As I covered in my previous post, cloth diapers (no matter the brand) will actually save you money in the long run, but they do cost a lot more upfront. My son has about 40 cloth diapers (spread out over several sizes), and each diaper (or set of cover and prefold) cost about $15 apiece. Being conservative, then, I spent $600 on his diapers! Wow, that's a lot of money! When compared to the $18 that a bag of Huggies Pure & Naturals would cost me, that's a gigantic difference! But the $600 is a one-time cost, and I'd be paying $18 every 14 days until he's out of diapers, bringing the total I would spend on disposables to between $1500 and $2000. Considering that my daughter is now wearing the same cloth diapers (cost of cloth for her, $0), and my savings for having two kids in cloth comes to at least $2400! Even if you add in special cloth-diapering laundry detergent (I buy Charlie's Soap - it costs $25 and lasts me over 6 months), electricity, and water, the savings are significant.
Having said that, I understand that many people cannot afford to lay out $600 up front for diapers. I couldn't, either. I bought the diapers as my son sized into them - smalls, then mediums, etc. There are also less-expensive options such as buying from Cloth Diaper Clearance or DiaperSwappers.com, going on Freecycle, or using a friend's old diapers.
7. My daycare doesn't accept cloth diapers.
This is one reason why more people need to begin cloth-diapering, but it is a problem that I cannot solve. I recommend parents go to their daycare, show off some of the easier styles of cloth diapers (seriously, they can't handle Bum Genius?), and try to get other parents who use that daycare involved. If it is what the clients want, daycares will change to accommodate them. But if none of the other parents are interested, or the daycare refuses to change its policy, you're stuck with the options of switching providers or using disposables, at least while at the daycare.
8. Cloth diapering is too complicated/time consuming - I have enough going on as it is.
For me, this excuse given by my disposable-using friends inspired the most empathy. While I would argue that cloth diapering is not nearly as time consuming as people who don't do it seem to think, when my first child was born, I was struggling to find time to shower and brush my teeth. Laundry was absolutely not on my radar. Being a new mother (or father) is daunting, exhausting, overwhelming, etc. I get it. I've been there. You're just trying to stay afloat. This is why I recommend those who feel this way take another gander at Excuse #2.
It's okay. It's okay to start your newborn out in disposables if you just can't handle one more task. It's okay to keep a pack of disposables at hand for when you get the stomach flu, go on vacation, leave the baby with a sitter, or just have a bad day. If you want to cloth diaper, you don't have to give it up because you can't handle it full-time all the time. If cloth diapering seems intimidating, start slowly. Buy a couple of diapers and use them part-time, when you're hanging around the house. If you're like me, you'll be surprised at just how little of your time cloth diapering actually takes.
9. Disposable diapers are more convenient - cloth diapers are a hassle.
This is probably the most common answer I received, and the hardest to get around. The invention of disposable diapers made life easier for lots of moms, and that mindset has kind of continued. It is a matter of priorities. For me, the environmental effect of disposables outweighs any sort of "take-and-toss" convenience, much in the same way that I prefer to use stoneware plates during dinner instead of paper plates every day. Yes, I have to wash them and put them away, but I only have to buy them once and I save thousands of trees by doing it my way.
Cloth diapering does require some extra steps. There is some extra laundry involved, and while pro-cloth people often claim the advantages of not having to run to the store to buy a bag of diapers, I don't know anyone who goes just for that reason (my friends, at least, tend to combine trips). One of my CDing friends pointed out that cloth diapering is much easier when both parents get involved, or are at least supportive of the efforts (and I completely agree!) Hassle is really in the eye of the beholder, and everyone's schedule, tolerance for extra tasks, and priorities vary. For some (like my husband) being Green is top priority, while others do it so long as they don't have to go out of their way. Many of my friends said they were Green in other ways, and so they didn't worry about using disposable diapers. None of these answers are wrong, or selfish. Everyone has to set their own standards and choose their own way to make a difference in the world. I would like to see more people using cloth diapers, for a number of reasons, but it isn't for everyone.
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