The Case for Cloth Diapers ... Escalates!

Generally, I respect a person's decision to use disposable diapers. I myself use cloth diapers on my son (and soon-to-be daughter) and truly believe they are the easier, more economical, more eco-friendly, and healthier diapering choice; however, every parent has the right to make this decision for themselves and for some families I think disposable diapers are the right choice.

I, however, became increasingly frustrated with disposable diaper users on two occasions this week. Two occasions which both individually and combined strengthened my stance on cloth diaper use. Admittedly, it is not all disposable diaper users who I am frustrated with ... just a select few. Read on, and you will know who you are.

Earlier this week, I was in a plaza with my husband and son. We were walking across a parking lot chatting when I noticed a (used!) disposable diaper thrown haphazardly on the ground. It takes at least 500 years for that one diaper to decompose I thought ... how long will it sit there in the parking lot?! We walked a little further and you will NEVER guess what I saw. Okay maybe you guessed. Another disposable diaper just tossed aside at the users convenience. Not only gross and disrespectful to the people who have to clean the parking lot, but isn't it also illegal to litter? Two diapers thrown randomly out someone's car window or are the two diapers from two different sets of caregivers, neither of which obviously has any respect for the environment?

A few days later, my husband and I decided to spoil our son a little bit ... who is only 19 months old and about to lose his "only child" status - an event that will change his life dramatically (for the better I hope!) ... and we took him to Chuck-E-Cheese to play. As per Murphy's Law as soon as we walked in the door he pooped. No problem, I did have my cloth diapers and cloth wipes with me so off to the ladies room we went. When we got there, I found the change table and dropped the table down to use it. EWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Again, no respect for other people or the environment (even the indoor environment counts right?). That's right - there was a poopy disposable diaper stuffed in that hole that is supposed to hold something (I think paper to lie your baby on or something ... I have never seen one with anything in it so I am not sure what it is for). On top of that, the caregiver who had so "kindly" stuffed the diaper in this hole had managed to get the poop from the diaper over most of the side of the table. I took one look at this and realized this was all in the way of my son's hands ... which I was sure would be all over the mess. I promptly left the bathroom with my son, plopped my son in my husband's lap and told him he needed to change him in the men's room. I was totally disgusted and annoyed.

When was the last time you saw someone's cloth diaper investment stuffed in a hole for garbage or thrown on the ground of a parking lot? I can't say I have ever seen this. Why? Probably lots of reasons ... starting with the fact that a lot of cloth diaper users have chosen cloth diapering at least partially for the environment. A lot of the remainder do so because of the cost savings ... and let's face it throwing them out instead of reusing them is not cost-effective.

End of ranting ... (for now!).

I leave you with just one request. For those of you who choose to use disposable diapers, please do so with respect for other people and at least some respect for the environment. I don't want my son exposed to some unknown person's feces or urine as I don't know whether that baby has HIV, Hepatitis, the flu, or nothing at all. My son's health is important to me. The health of the people who have to clean up such inconsiderate (aka lazy people) messes is also important to me. They don't know if your baby is sick and it is unnecessary exposure to other people's body fluids (okay so the nurse in me shines through every now and then :)

Thanks for reading.

If you are interested in making the switch to cloth diapers or learning more about them, please visit Storks & Berries!