Thursday, December 25, 2008

Cloth Diapers - A Smart Choice

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.

It is estimated that cloth nappies only take around six months to degrade in landfill site, while disposable diapers are the third most common consumer product in landfills today, and they may take up to 500 years to decompose.

Today's cotton diapers are much different from those that were used several decades ago. Modern cotton diapers are pre-cut and shaped to cover the baby's backside easily and quickly. They also now have Velcro fasteners or snaps in order to make it easier to secure. Another added feature is that many cotton diapers now come with a flushable, biodegradable paper lining to hold in solid waste so you can easily flush it down the toilet. Now, there are no more stinky diapers sitting around waiting for trash pickup day.

The cloth diaper-wearing children tend to be toilet trained earlier because the cloth retains moisture, allowing the child to feel when he or she is wet or dirty, and associate the feeling with elimination.

Diapers made of cloth are, in many ways, a thing of the past, but they are by no means gone forever. For the parent with financial or environmental concerns cloth diapers are still a very viable option for clothing the bottoms of their babies.

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