The Diaper Dilemma

Any new parent will testify that the bottom line increases once you introduce a new member to the family.   One big drain on the budget of new parents is diapers.  On average it takes about 30 months to potty-train a child.  In that time span, a child goes through roughly 6,700 disposable diapers, which is equivalent to $2,400 (Washingtonpost.com). 

Cost aside, there are other issues related to disposable diapers---health issues.  According to the Real Diaper Association, disposable diapers contain trace amounts of dioxin, a toxic byproduct of the paper bleaching process.  Dioxin is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals (of course, this chemical is banned by many countries, but not by the United States).  Disposable diapers also contain the toxic pollutant Tributyl-tin, a toxic pollutant that causes hormonal issues in humans and animals.  Sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer, is also used in disposable diapers, and is similar to the absorbent polymers banned from tampons in the 1980s because of they increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome. 

Disposable diapers are also have a detrimental effect on the environment.   According to EPA estimates, 3.3 million tons of diapers end up in landfills each year---that's 18 billion diapers!  Holy Crap!  According to the Children's Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC), "Proper use of disposables includes dumping fecal matter into the toilet before putting the soiled diaper in the trash. In practice, however, most parents don’t take that extra step. The smell and bacteria can create public health hazards. Fecal matter also carries live viruses that could potentially be released into the environment through leaking landfills." 

Parents could help both their bottom lines and the environment by using washable and reusable diapers.  Whereas millions of tons of disposable diapers end up in landfills, a reusable diaper can be reused between 100 to 150 times, and then reused again as rags!  One option for reusable diapers is the kind offered  by gDiapers, which consists of a washable cotton outer pant and a flushable or compostable insert.  Another option is the Tiny Tush Trim Organic Diaper by Heavenly Organic, which offers a reusable waterproof shell that you wrap around the organic cotton diaper, which has a highly-absorbent and removable cotton liner that can absorb up to 16 ounces of liquid! 

For those who just can't bring themselves to wash soiled diapers, there are some environmentally-viable options.  Seventh Generation offers Chlorine-Free Baby Diapers that are gentle on a baby's skin and on the environment.  Or even more revolutionary, how about having your baby go "diaper free"?  According to parenting expert Ann Pleshette Murphy, more than 4,000 parents have joined a social networking group called DiaperFreeBaby.org, that is dedicated to their pursuit.  How do these parents manage to achieve this?  Through "elimination communication", parents try to read their baby's signals and try to get the child to the toilet before they unload their loads.  With babies going through 10 diapers a day, a parent trying this method needs to be hyper-vigilant and have a lot of time on their hands for childrearing!

Whatever you decide on, moving away from using disposable diapers is good for the family's bottom line, the child's "bottom line" and reducing our effect on the environment.

Comments

[pregnancy book]

I use washable diapers, and it's not that bad.

[Chaos]

Thank you for mentioning elimination communication as an option. The thing I think is ironic is the comment about a baby going through about 10 diapers a day...newborns eliminate about every 20 minutes...you do the math and if people are only changing diapers 10 times a day, imagine how many babies are sitting around wet most of the day. While it is daunting to imagine reading a baby's cues and pottying him or her every 20 minutes, using cloth diaper back up and responding when you can seems a better idea - and every elimination that is caught is a diaper not used and each communication with your child is an opportunity to keep him/her connected to his/her natural instinct not to soil the "nest". There is a lot involved in caring for a newborn, but how much more difficult is it to offer your baby a pottytunity when you change them than it is to plop 'em in another diaper? It can be that easy.

Just a thought. And thanks again for helping to expose people to the idea that there is another option.