Cloth Diapers vs Disposable Diapers
Diapers are expensive, there is no doubt about it. If you are considering cloth as an alternative to disposables, cloth costs money – and disposables don’t stop costing money. So what is the real difference between cloth diapers vs disposable diapers?
Let’s look at the cost of cloth diapers vs disposable diapers:
Disposable diapers cost about $.75* for size 4-8 – This may seem high but that’s the math. Disposable products made for bedwetting are even more expensive.
Now for the next sizes up, 8-14, the costs double to $1.41.* They keep the price point of a pack the same but reduce the quantity you get, making you buy packs more often.
Cloth Diapers and Potty Training
From a young age, your baby can learn to connect the sensation of a full bladder to the soon-to-follow sensation of wetness in his diaper. And if this sensation is uncomfortable to him, he will cry, you will change him, and his preference for a dry bottom is reinforced. Guess what! Making that ‘potty-awareness’ connection is half the work of potty-training right there! Cloth diapers can help this process. Want to introduce the potty early? Read our Early Potty Training tips here.
But what about bedwetting? Not many parents take bed wetting into account when weighing the pros and cons when looking at cloth diapers vs disposable diapers.
- Nightly bedwetting using disposables in the smaller size: $22.80 per month,
- Nightly Bedwetting in larger sized disposables: $42.30 per month, almost double!
Within two months you will spend over $80, more than 2 pairs of a great cloth alternative. But cloth can last you up to three years. Even if you got a new pair of cloth bedwetting undies every month you would still save mad cash! You’d spend over $500 a year on disposables and only $420 on cloth! OR just get two pairs and rotate them.
Other benefits of cloth vs. disposables.
This topic is mainly dealing with older kids wetting the bed. We’re talking 5 yr olds and 8 yr olds, maybe even older! (Yes, Super Undies has sizes for bigger kids, too.) Let’s look at the thought process of an older kid that is wetting the bed. The biggest relief I hear from parents and kids alike when they switch to cloth is this… They don’t have to use a “baby diaper” anymore. Mentally, climbing into the same plastic diaper that gets strapped on a toddler seems infantile to a kid, even if you change the name from “diaper” to “pull-up” to “under jams.” Wearing the same kind of diaper as a toddler can damage their self-esteem. This article in Pediatric Nursing clearly states the damage to one’s self-esteem that can be done if bedwetting is ignored and not supported.
Using plastic baby diapers, especially when children are beyond 6 years old, can be damaging to their self-esteem. Cloth bedwetting solutions are a wonderful alternative to disposables and often help kids feel better about themselves. Super Undies helps breaks that stigma!
The Benefits of Parental Support
Another way to normalize and support your child through bedwetting is to offer them variety!
Nothing says, “Let’s work out” like getting 5 pairs of yoga pants. Or how about, “You look great in blue,” so you buy blue dresses and shirts. The same is true here.
“Bedwetting is no big deal, and I’m with you in this.” That’s what you’re saying when you invest in Super Undies. You’re telling your child that you don’t care how long they will wet the bed. There’s no pressure to stop, we’re just going to wash and reuse these! Fun fact: 15% of Kids that transition from disposables to cloth end reducing how often they wet the bed, or stop altogether within 2 weeks. This is because cloth helps build the body-brain connection much better than disposables. In support of this statement, I’d like to point out that the National Library of Medicine has published an article stating that 4 out of 5 cases of nocturnal enuresis are most likely curable.
Now back to parental support
Imagine you are 8 and you have been wetting the bed since you can remember. Your parents got you some cloth undies. You feel better because they don’t have to keep buying packs of disposables. AND no one can see under jams in the shopping cart, so you don’t think anyone they run into while shopping can figure out that you are the bedwetter. That’s a relief. But now a new pair of Super Undies just showed up! You didn’t even ask for them, but these are a new release and have cool space heroes on them. Your parents just said they thought you’d like them, so they got ’em for you.
How cool is that! They really aren’t mad about this! They are totally supportive of me. I love mom and dad.
That may seem a bit theatrical, but I bet it’s not. A world of uncertainty is constantly spinning in the minds of our children, and it grows bigger as they do. We need to be loving and supportive through this. If disposables make your child feel more comfortable, then stick with them. But if cloth can help them quit, feel more comfortable, be more absorbent than disposables, and prove you are supporting their trials, then go with it.
So What’s Next?
My suggestion is this. Talk candidly with your child about their issue and ask them if they would like to explore more options. Show them pictures of kids in Super Undies, prepare them for the undies being a bit bulkier (but softer and comfier) then disposables. If your child is older, show them That you are willing to support them and work with them in finding solutions. This may not mean the complete elimination of bedwetting. This means more comfort while sleeping, the potential to bed-wet less, and eliminating the stigma attached to using plastic baby diapers.
*All prices are quoted from Targets retail price