Introduction

Cloth diapering is back with the introduction of modern cloth baby diapers in recent years. These cloth diapers are as easy to use as disposables, machine-washable and attractively-designed. It is now possible to conveniently diaper babies and toddlers in cloth full-time – that includes night-time, when shopping and even travelling abroad. Since a child will be in diapers for a few years, using cloth diapers can bring about significant cost savings and is also environmentally-friendly.

Benefits

Save Money
Building a stash of modern cloth diapers is an investment that will save you money in the many months of diapering ahead. Here is an example:

Modern Cloth Diapers: 15 one-size diapers to rotate x S$30 each = S$450 (total)
Disposables: 6 per day x S$0.30 per diaper x 365 days = S$657 (per year!)

If your child is toilet-trained at 3 years old, that means S$1,971 in total or S$1,521 down the rubbish bin, which could have been contributed to his/her education fund instead.

Cloth Baby diapers are gentle on babies’ sensitive skin, which means no more rashes and expensive diaper cream. Good quality cloth diapers can also be handed down to the next one to two children, further lowering the costs. Many mothers also use cloth wipes which complement cloth diapers perfectly for even more savings.

Save Mother Earth
Having a child on disposables for three years means adding about 6,570 (3 years x 365 days x 6 diapers per day) diapers to the landfill! Compare that with about 15 one-size diapers and the difference is obvious.

For an especially green diapering method, modern cloth diapers can be washed together with the family’s clothes in a full load every one to two days in an energy-efficient washing machine and line-dried. There are also cloth diapers made from natural fibres such as wool, bamboo, unbleached hemp and organic unbleached cotton.

When your children are potty-trained, well-maintained cloth diapers can be sold in the second-hand market (for instance, Diaperswap Forum), given away to relatives and friends or donated to charity.

How to Start
I started with cloth diapering after learning from other mothers who generously shared their experiences in cloth diaper review websites and blogs. You may also seek out relatives or friends who are using modern cloth diapers on their children. It is amazing how enjoyable and addictive modern cloth diapering can be.

Win a Cloth Diaper!
If you wish to consider cloth diapering or add to your cloth diaper stash, participate in Mummy’s Reviews’ Giveaway before 31 December 2009 to stand a chance to win a cloth diaper worth S$29 in your favourite colour!

About the Writer

Mummy to Baby V is a first-time mother who relocated from Singapore to Malaysia. She has been cloth-diapering and breastfeeding her 9-month old son since he was born. Her blog, Mummy’s Reviews, provides reviews on products and services that her family has tried and aims to help parents make smart purchases.

Website: mummysreviews.com
Contact: mummy-to-baby-v@mummysreviews.com

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