Thu 30 Oct 2008
There are a lot of great reasons to choose cloth diapering over disposables. For instance, the amount of landfill waste that results from diapering a child in exclusively in disposables is 2 - 3 tons (yes, you read that right). But one big thing is that cloth diapers are a very cost effective way to go as well.
Cloth diapers are reusable. We have used the same diaper covers and diapers for both of our children. When we are done, these cloth diaper supplies will be used by more kids since we will either give them away or resell them.
Potty Training Happens Sooner for Cloth Diaper Babies: In general potty training occurs much earlier and is easier for children using cloth diapers. It is estimated that kids in cloth potty-train 12-18 months earlier than kids in disposables. Of course, the longer a child is in diapers, the greater the expense.
Disposable diapers absorb moisture very quickly. As a result, your child does not feel any wetness and the natural “signals” are lost. As disposable diapers have improved, the average age for potty training has extended.
The gut-check on this is that if you review diaper ads and products from 20 years ago versus today you see that ads with children aged 3 to 5 years is now a common occurrence. Also common potty training suggestions these days include “try switching to cloth diapers.”
That said, PLEASE keep in mind that every child is unique. It is perfectly acceptable if your child is “older” when he/she trains, don’t let it stress our you or stress out your little one out. It’s not a race.
Total Expense: The out of pocket cost for cloth diapering supplies will probably be less than $500.
What about added water and energy cost for washing? This is hard to judge. Babies = a lot more laundry and energy use. So what is the incremental additional cost of using cloth diapers?
I took a look at all additional energy and water usage we have used since Gael was born. It is about $20 per month.
If I attribute ALL of that additional expense to the use of cloth diapers (which clearly is a gross overestimation) and figure he is potty trained by age 2 1/2…that is another $600 in expenses or $1100 for the total cost of cloth diapering from birth to potty training.
How does that compare? Disposable diaper expense averages $75 per month, so we are saving over $1,000 by choosing to use cloth diapers instead of disposables.
Wow!




