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Yes, There Is Even More To Say About Diapers - Flashback Fridays

Additions to the original post are in pink :)

So in the last few days I have read two potty training books (Yeah, its kinda weird, but think about what a prepared mommy I will be, plus I baby-sit so its good to know anyways) which have taught me SOOOO much more about the importance of cloth diapers, as well as the importance of early potty training!  I would like to have it known that I am a failure at potty training.  I tried with the girls, but I ended up just waiting until their moms told me that they were potty trained, or at least close.  Someday I will have my own kids and have no choice but to deal with all the mess, but for the daycare kids, I gave up. 

I'll just focus on diapers, but I will probably end up spouting off about the wonderful world of infant potty training/elimination communication/natural infant hygeine.  And by wonderful I mean difficult, but really cool if you can manange it.

People in the USA used to start potty training really early. Like two or three months old. This was back when there were no disposable diapers, and no automatic washing machines. When washing machines got to be more popular, good old Dr. Spock suggested waiting longer to potty train, like 9 months old or so. In 1957 half of all babies started potty training by 9 months old.

Then Pampers came out. In 1961 Dr. Brazelton (who's name is really familiar to me for some reason) signed up to sing Pampers praises. He then said that it was important to make sure that children are emotionally, physically, and psychologically ready to potty-train. This would be around 2 1/2 years old. Gee, do you think maybe Pampers benefited from Dr. Brazelton's research (which if you read Early Start Potty Training you will find is fairly flawed)?

Thats a pretty good reason to not use disposable diapers for me (or at least Pampers).  Actually it turns out that I seem to prefer Pampers, as they make it much easier to tell if they are wet or not than Huggies.

Diaper rash! Did you know diaper rash is actual ammonia burns from urine? It used to be considered a serious sign of neglect, and only 7% of babies suffered from it. Now its up around 78% and not considered a big deal.  I don't think it should be considered a sign of neglect, just a sign of the times. 

Male infertility and undescended testicles have coinsided with the rates of children in disposable diapers.

Dioxin is a by-product of disposable diaper making. Dioxin is a carcinogen and also causes nerve damage. Organotins are toxic compounds found in many disposable diapers, often in the absorbant gel. They cause immune system harm and have been found to be the cause of Toxic Shock Syndrome in tampon users.

On average, disposable diaper wearers take an additional year to potty train. The reason it takes so long is because the baby/child can't feel when they are wet. This is also why they have so much diaper rash, because its hard to tell when they are wet, and they don't complain about it because its not uncomfortable.  An extra year of potty training costs about $318 in diapers.  But its also a lot more likely that you don't have to do the unpleasant and awkward task of wiping an older child's butt, because the older they are the more likely they can take care of that themselves.



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Comments

  1. Potty training seems to be such a parenting milestone~like if you are able to potty train your child by this age you are a great parent. As the mom of nine, I have potty trained kids as early as 16 months and as late as 3 years~one is not better although later is definitely easier as they can take care of themselves (pull up pants, go on a big potty, wipe, etch) and as a child who wore cloth diapers~I had diaper rash all the time and my mom was super attentive and I used cloth on my 1st 3 kids and one of them had a super sensitive bottom and always had a rash of one type or another~so I think there are a number of factors that are being left out of the findings--just to support or oppose one's personal philosophy--as I have found any research can be "manipulated."
    So my opinion on this matter after years of dealing with it is~Relax, it is unlikely your child will go to Kindergarten in diapers! ;)

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    Replies
    1. I think that there was a fairly good chunk of time where cloth diapering probably INCREASED diaper rash. I know my mom cloth diapered my brother and he got some wicked diaper rash. But it wasn't from the diapers, it was from the plastic pants, which don't breathe at all! So from whenever plastic pants were invented, until more breathable materials were used, diaper rash probably was very common. Now I think that diaper rash is much less common in cloth diapered babies than in disposable diapered babies. I don't really care what other people do about diapering, I just want to save the money, and avoid the toxins, but as a baby-sitter, I quite prefer disposables, because I am lazy :)

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  2. These are the best diapers. My newborn was almost 10 lbs. at birth and newborn diapers were too tiny and leaked every single time he wet his diaper. I moved to the next size up with an expensive brand and continued to have the same problem. My pediatrician recommended honest diapers so I tried them and am SO pleased.

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