Lovely article on the front page.

NativeFloridian

A cloth vs. disposables Q&A with a reply circa 2009 popped up on the front page today.  As usual, the article contains just enough misinformation to scare skittish folks into the arms of disposable diaper companies.

We've got phrases like, "Cloth diapers aren't as absorbent, though, so you'll have to change them more often," "Leaving on a soiled diaper -" (talking about cloth diapers) " -increases the risk of diaper rash," and, "Disposable diapers are more breathable."

Really, it doesn't surprise me that so many people have the wrong idea about CDing.  You can't find a truly factual article about CDing on any mainstream website on the internet.  And if most people are anything like my parents, they skip straight over the "hippie, tree-hugging, cloth-diaper-friendly" websites and go straight for the "fair and balanced" sites, which would be where articles like this one come to rest.

LadyExtravaganza

Ugh that article sounds awful!

I still get people giving me the side eye whenever I mentioned CDs. Seriously? It's my kid's butt, get over it!

rachaelski

I haven't even had the baby yet, and people are already challenging my decision. I have to bite my tongue to keep from saying something like, "You may be able to sleep at night knowing your kids has chemical goo against their butt and reproductive organs, but I am not," or "The supposed inconvenience of cloth diapering will prevent thousands of diapers from entering landfills, where they will sit for decades, so I am okay with a little extra work."

ananas19

Well, obviously this "research" was paid for by disposable manufacturers or the like. It's like any parenting decision, people judge, likely to justify their own decisions.

NativeFloridian

ananas19:

Well, obviously this "research" was paid for by disposable manufacturers or the like. It's like any parenting decision, people judge, likely to justify their own decisions.

Oh, to be sure.  These articles are especially useful to folks who are dead set against cloth diapering.

I mean, really, everyone has the right to make their own parenting decisions, it just bugs me that misleading information like what this and other articles tout is available and regarded as valid.  So even a parent who honestly wants to weigh the options between disposables and cloth and make an informed decisions is going to end up confused by the conflicting information that's out there.  I know I was when I first started doing research.  Sure, lots of folks will still choose disposables when presented a valid case for CDing, but there are also lots of people who may well have chosen cloth and decided not to because they were scared out of it.  When it comes down to brass tacks, the disposable diaper manufacturers have the general population by the 'nads.  The decision to CD is still widely considered to be nothing more than some sort of eco-hippie thing to do, and I think that's ridiculous.

/rant, lol. 

maddiemoon43

Ugh, I was reading the first few pages of What to Expect in The 1st Year book.  Apparently CD "are the clear losers here."  STFU.  I have been rolling my eyes throughout the book so far. 

LadyExtravaganza

maddiemoon43:

Ugh, I was reading the first few pages of What to Expect in The 1st Year book.  Apparently CD "are the clear losers here."  STFU.  I have been rolling my eyes throughout the book so far. 

Yeah, that book was NOT my friend.