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I have nothing against disposable diapers (except for the landfill mess), nor against mothers that use them. I just get ticked when poor people whine about not being able to afford them when there is an affordable way to diaper your baby.
I forgot to mention earlier that I do think the program mentioned in the article is a good one. To reward young mothers with free diapers for attending parenting classes is quite smart. Whatever keeps 'em going and learning how to better care for their kids will help society as a whole.
And, to the poster who calls them sposies, wherever did this name come from? I never heard it before.
That was me lol!
I agree with everything you said in regards to the above.
I was really into cloth diapering when I was pregnant with my daughter and on CD sites (cloth diapering) disposables are called "sposies." CDs are called "fluff." They go on and on about cute "fluffy butt babies." And I attest, they are pretty cute with the multi-colored covers available now.
There is a somewhat large cloth diapering movement and many CD groups teach lower income ladies how to do it.
It really is not that difficult like you mentioned, myself and others. It does not require a large amount of time or investment.
And FWIW, I was a poor black mother when I started CDing my daughter. Contrary to what many believe, most poor people are not too dumb to learn to cloth diaper and most moms, regardless of income level, want their babies to be clean and comfortable and well taken care of.
There are many resources available for lower income moms to buy cloth diapers. Like I mentioned earlier, there are diaper exchanges online where you can get 50 prefolds for $10 to $20. You can get lots of covers too and just cut up felt shirts for liners.
Like the other posters mentioned, if our grandmas and great grandmas could do it, there is no reason why we can't when we have so much more amenities, even poor moms have more amenities like laundry mats and running water and hot water from the faucet. And bleach does rinse clean if it is rinsed enough. Like I said, one can also use peroxide, which is basically the cheap version of "oxy-clean." You can use vinegar in the rinse cycle to ensure diapers are stripped well. Vinegar can be used on all clothes as a fabric softener. You can use Borax, which is really cheap to wash diapers in. There really is no excuse except ignorance.
Unfortunately, our society places a high premium on making money off of babies and all moms, not just poor ones fall for the trap of thinking we need formula and disposable diapers. They are a convenience but are not a necessity and even though I do think it is good that these charities offer parenting lessons in exchange for disposable diapers, I wish they would also do some CD lessons and be breastfeeding advocates as well, especially for moms like the one mentioned in the article who gets disability (meaning she has a steady flow of income and also has food stamps, Medicaid and other social programs at her disposal - which was mentioned in the article). She could have afforded to spend $100 on some prefolds and covers. I work in the housing industry and most of the people who get SSDI who are residents of ours (who also get subsidized housing along with foodstamp and Medicaid) get at least $700 a month in SSDI payments and only pay 30% of that in rent. They don't even have to pay for utilities if they stay in certain communities. This woman only has one baby according to the article. She could have saved $5 a week from month 3 of her pregnancy until the end and had enough for a set of cloth diapers.
Those of you advocating for people being too dumb to diaper a baby are being really silly on this issue. I can even understand the breast feeding versus formula debate more as many workplaces aren't breast feeding friendly to working poor moms and breastfeeding can be physically painful. Moms also worry babies aren't "getting enough" when they breastfeed as they can't really measure like you can with a bottle. But come on about diapers!!! This is pee and poop we are talking about. People know how to wash clothes! People know how to clean a baby!
You are missing the point. It might not be hard for a highly educated couple who will read about the best way to clean them, and then have the willingness to implement it.
But those people are not that poor. Poor people are not highly educated, they don't do a lot of research and their work ethic is often lacking. If they started using cloths diapers then it would probably end up with the baby getting an infection because they don't clean it well enough. And they would hate it because it creates extra work, and its disgusting.
The point that you conviniently cropped out. If people in the US become so poor they can't buy diapers then they will do what they were doing in China where previously most families could not afford it. They would cut a hole in the back of the pants. If they do it inside, they will clean it up. If it is outside then they will just ignore it
Hence, in my opinion subsidizing diapers is probably a smart thing to do if people can't afford it.
BS. You do not need a postgraduate education to wash the cloth diapers by hands.
You need a WILL.
A no, a taxpayer is not going to subsidize the laziness of poor people, because they do not have the will.
Get your lazy butt up and wash the diapers yourself. period.
if they soil the street or any public area - fine them. it is going to make revenue and also very quickly tech a lesson how to wash by hands. There is no better way than through the wallet.
All welfare articles play to your emotions to garner sympathy.
But it gets to a point where enough is enough already.
The poor in America really have no clue how good they have it.
Plop them in Somalia or Haiti with that baby and see if they still complain that the laundromat is too far or too expensive.
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