Christmas are a time that we associate with family relationship and peace. However, only one face of this winter time. The second is that we herald Christmas as a stress factor. They are confirmed by research and tests.
One of the reasons for evoking negative emotions in us, apart from the time and financial expenses that we have to bear on this occasion, are awkward questions asked at the family table. In the case of parents who diaper their children multiple times, it is not the issues of religion or politics that may be the most controversial, but what your child has on the bottom.
What strategy to adopt? You know your loved ones best. Do you also know yourself - do you prefer substantive polemics or ignoring the matter for the sake of peace? You will make the decision yourself, and we come with a set of arguments that may be helpful for you in diaper skirmishes
Situation 1. Grandma Krysia complains that you must have a lot of smelly laundry, dirty diapers are scattered around the house, and you do nothing else but stand by the kitchen with a pot of boiling water…
Explain to Grandma Krysia that the cloth diapering of her imaginations is a thing of the past long ago. We do not boil modern diapers (we wash them in the washing machine like everything else), we do not iron (it would even hurt them), and if properly stored, dirty diapers do not emit any smell to the environment.
Situation 2. Uncle Zdzisiek called you eco-crazy in a not polite way and accused you that these "your quirks" would consume a lot of energy and water and are not so eco-friendly at all.
Do you know why Uncle Zdziś thinks so? Because in his mind he only "sees" the water and energy used for the use of reusable diapers. There is no awareness that disposable diapers do not magically jump onto store shelves. Production, packaging, transport, distribution - these are huge costs for the environment, which hurt us less because we do not pay for them out of our own pocket. Regardless of the starting conditions, however, reusable diapers are always more advantageous in this regard. If you want to be very meticulous, remember dry data. You can find calculations on many diaper pages.
Situation 3- Aunt Mirka looked at your baby's cover and she almost got a palpitations, because this wool is bound to sweat!
Aunt Mirka probably associates wool with a thick knitted sweater. Aunt Mirka probably doesn't know that wool has thermoregulatory properties. This means that air bubbles accumulate between its fibers, which act like a layer of polystyrene on the building - they provide heating in winter, and effective cooling in summer. In addition, wool provides two-way air circulation - water vapor from the diaper is removed from the skin, and fresh air is supplied to it. Thanks to this, there is no way that the bottom is sweating.
Situation 4- Aunt Adelaide wipes her glasses in disbelief when she heard how much one diaper costs. He snorts sarcastically that I already know what you are passing on "500+" …
Aunt Adelaide probably cannot think long-term. Because yes, reusable diapers are a considerable expense, but one-time (or spread over several larger payments). Buying disposable dipers means paying smaller amounts from your wallet on a regular basis, even for 3 years! Smaller ones, which when added up become really big! Each ranking available on the Internet shows the superiority in this aspect of reusable diapers, even if we adopt extreme initial assumptions (the most expensive reusable system, purchased on the primary market, vs. the cheapest, market disposable diapers). Not to mention the fact that disposables are money wasted, and reusable diapers, even if for a small amount, can be resold or stored for younger siblings.
Situation 5. Uncle Gienek, an expert on all sorts of topics, believes that these nappies are so big and they certainly restrict freedom of movement.
Uncle Gienek certainly has no idea how rich the market of reusable diapers is. He does not know that there are wider and slimmed cuts, with higher and lower waist, traditionally fastened on the hips, with Velcro and snaps. All this so that the diaper can be adjusted to the needs, possibilities and stage of development of the child in the best possible way. Can the same be said about disposables? Well, probably not...
Situation 6. Grandpa Klemens clicks under his mustache and sarcastically comments: you are probably doing nothing else but changing diapers all the time. After all, the kid is still wet in these "cloth". Not like these modern disposables ...
Is Grandpa right? It all depends on your point of view and what we mean by "still". If someone believes the commertials and thinks that a disposable diaper can be changed every 6-8 hours, indeed, the recommended cloth diaper change frequency may knock him out. The truth is that, regardless of the type of diaper, it should ideally be changed after each soiling. It is the norm with cloth, but with disposables - something not obvious...
You may encounter many similar situations. It is up to you how you react to them. We wish you that there would be as few such malcontents as possible at your Christmas table. And that, instead of complaining, you would meet with words of admiration, what beautiful, healthy and wise diaper you have chosen for your baby!
