'Diaper culture' in parents

[PurpleScorpion]

The one 'stereotype' I hear about parenting and diapers is that a lot of cloth diaper users look down on disposable diaper using parents because it's 'more natural' or 'better for the planet'. But this is just a broad thing, I haven't heard if it's 'real'.

So from what you've observed as parents, or from observing your parents, or observing other parents, is there anything like that? Are there any sort of stereotypes with regard to what diaper brands you use-aside from you being either cheap or broke for using store/discount brands, etc.

Plus there's anti-Pull-Up/disposable training pants POVs.

Share what you've observed!

 

[ChristianDiaperLover]

My parents actually liked disposable diapers when they came out. They hated washing diapers constantly. I grew up in disposable diapers but anytime I hear them talking about babies and diapers sometimes the cloth diaper discussion pops up. The only thing they say is that cloth was a little bit cheaper.

 

[SparkyDog]

I was an early 80s baby / kid
and mom always said soon as disposables became mainstream she switched me out of cloth.
So much less laundry
Was quite happy about that
and I have been in disposables since
I tried cloth for a few weeks but the laundry and leaks + up front costs was not worth it.

 

[jamiejamie]

I was a late 70's baby. My parents used cloth for my older brother and when I came along, the disposable diapers was surging in popularity due to ease of use and my parents were excited about not having to do laundry constantly so they used disposable for me.

 

[Cottontail]

I was a late-70s baby, as was my younger sister, and we were both in cloth diapers from birth to potty training. For the first year of my life, my parents used a diaper service: Seattle's Baby Diaper Service, which still exists (although they now provide disposables). Mom occasionally used Pampers for outings, but mostly she looked down on the use of disposable diapers and considered them incredibly wasteful.

Shortly before my wife and I had our first child, a friend of my wife's announced that she and her husband, who were also expecting, would be using cloth diapers. We decided to do the same. My wife and her friend then spent a weekend together at our dining room table, both with sewing machines, making all of the cloth diapers out of old flannel bed sheets and bath towels! We purchased the covers new. Those one-size diapers lasted us through two kids, from the mid 2000s to early 2010s.

I don't remember ever feeling like we occupied some moral high ground because we were using cloth diapers. I do remember thinking "Wow, this is saving us quite a bit of money!" And that was certainly true. I've heard from UK members here about the high prices of energy there, but it's a very different story in the States. Our combined energy, water, and detergent costs for cloth diapering were about $15/month, not much more than a single package of Pampers.

Our first child potty-trained almost spontaneously at only 20 months, going straight from diapers to underwear and even staying dry at night. Our second took a little longer, and ended up being a bedwetter until age 8. We did ultimately transition to Pull-Ups and then GoodNites, in large part because he seemed eager to take care of his own needs and was making a strong effort. Pretty quickly he was only using one or two of these a day, so we weren't spending a lot.

Often I'll hear people talk about the high cost of diapering their kids, or I'll see articles about how diapers are so expensive, and I'll briefly wonder why more people don't use cloth. But really, I get it. In a way, the cost of diapering is like a regressive tax. Cloth diapers, while being much less expensive to use, aren't always an option for people with low incomes. Low-income families often don't have their own laundry machines. Both parents work, the kids are in daycare, and daycare requires disposables. Wife and I were fortunate. My job afforded us the opportunity for her to be a stay-at-home mom, and she wanted that, so that's what we did. That basically allowed us to save a lot of money on diapers.

In short: I'm not religious about it. Nowadays I work from home, in a house with my own laundry machines, and I mainly wear cloth diapers. In many ways it's a luxury, and I understand that it's not something anybody can casually choose to do. I also think disposable diapers are fun and cute, and in certain situations more practical. I wear them periodically also.

 

[Bigbabybret]

I know when i was a baby/kid was pampers, parents are NOT nature saving type.

Now my ex is a tree hugger and had me as much as possible using cloth mostly for the environment, which with the washing/soap was not as environmental as you'd think, but she was as far as using eco soap and even using homemade soaps vingar/baking soda/borax etc... So if you so far as using cloth, eco soaps and as little soap as you can is better for the environment, might be a bit cheaper, but your time is also worth something, and if your in an area where its burnt then the landfill thing isnt as big a deal.

the way i see it, the disposables are a bit more money, but i get less rashes for sure and much less work. And as for the environment it's not that much better in favor of cloth.

Just my take.

As for parents, back in the 70's they didnt care much about the environment.

 

[Hell2DaNaw]

I’ve only ever had experiences with disposable diapers and pull-ups, and honestly I don’t remember ever meeting anyone who has used cloth diapers for their babies.

In my experience, I’ve heard parents (both my generation and older) say “thank God disposables are a thing now”. While cloth may be better environmentally, it also requires TONS more work and near constant laundry, unless you live somewhere with a diaper laundry service.

Now with regards to pull-ups I’ve heard mixed things. Some say they help kids learn to independence while still protecting against accidents, while others claim they impede potty training and since they’re essentially just diapers, actually prolong the process.

 

[odd1inSyde]

My friends who have children have mixed feelings about disposables. Yes, they’re harmful to the environment, but in order to have a child in the United States these days - particularly in urban areas - you need both parents working to support a household. i.e… not a lot of time for laundry duty.

 

[Lily12345]

My parents solely used disposables this was I'm the early 2000s. When they mentioned it they said they never wanted to have daily washing when they both worked. They did get challenged regularly by my grandparents because they accused disposable of taking me longer to train.

 

[VanHelsing]

We used pre-shaped nappies and plastics pants on our kids (in the 90's), unless we were away then we tended to use disposables. The pre-shaped nappies were also borrowed by a friend for their baby. By the end of our breeding-cycle they probably could have been used for a 4th child, but we decided we had had enough. My son and his partner used and are again now planning to use washable all-in-one nappies on their children.

I think their bigger concern is that disposables nappies breakdown in the environment much slower that CO2 does in the atmosphere , that and it seems there is a readily available supply of re-usable nappies.

Each has their advantages and disadvantages.

 

[SoggyRunner]

I was a tail-end of 60s/early 70s baby, and my youngest brother was out of diapers by 1976. My parents used cloth for all of us except for longer trips when they would use Pampers disposables. I believe most other parents they knew at the time did the same. For them, it was mostly a cost issue, and my mom was at home and could do the many loads of laundry required for having two kids at a time in cloth diapers. It was also an incentive for me to be potty trained at age 2, so there weren’t two toddlers in diapers with a third baby soon to be on the way. Pull-ups weren’t a thing yet, so potty training was thick cotton trainers and a few weeks in the summer with lots of wet pants.

With my own child, we discussed trying cloth, but ended up going with disposables, as did most of our friends. My wife had a rough third trimester with a month of bed rest, then he was born a month early. In the chaos of that, we were scrambling to be ready to bring a baby home and convenience won out. We didn’t feel any pressure or judgement the families we knew that were doing cloth. We tried potty training just after age two without much success, and tried again after 2-1/2 just before he started preschool (diapers OK, and disposables not required). We used pull-ups for preschool and outings away from home, but it started to appear like he was just using them like a diaper. When he turned age 3, we said no more daytime pull-ups, and he was in underwear with only rare accidents. Nighttime was a different story. He wet every night until age 9, so we used diapers at night through about age 5, then pull-ups/Goodnites until nighttime accidents decreased to a few times per month by age 10.

 

[Calico]

Moms are always the worst in parenting communities, they both judge each other and how they raise kids.

It's true that cloth diapering parents have looked down on others who use disposables. I have seen the same about breast feeding too or vaginal deliveries.

I used both. It was about saving money on disposables. My husband hated them so he kept using disposable. I only used them when he had a diaper rash.

 

[Lori]

I was born in 1999. I wore 100% Disposable nappies

I don't even think it was really a question back then, unless you had some very specific environmental concerns

 

[Nowididit]

My friends who have children have mixed feelings about disposables. Yes, they’re harmful to the environment, but in order to have a child in the United States these days - particularly in urban areas - you need both parents working to support a household. i.e… not a lot of time for laundry duty.

So I have a question.
If disposable diapers are so "harmful" to the environment why haven't the use of them been banned? I mean they've been pushing the "harmful for the environment" since the early 80s yet when they talk about climate crisis disposable diapers are never on the agenda. Ever wonder why that is?

 

[odd1inSyde]

So I have a question.
If disposable diapers are so "harmful" to the environment why haven't the use of them been banned? I mean they've been pushing the "harmful for the environment" since the early 80s yet when they talk about climate crisis disposable diapers are never on the agenda. Ever wonder why that is?

Profit > planet.

 

[caitianx]

Being born in 1958, it was cloth dydees and plastic pants for me.
The washing machine was going every single day, washing my wet and poopy diapers, along with the wet and poopy diapers of both my younger brothers.
Then hanging the clean diaper out to dry.