Parents in Poverty: A diapering dilemma

1 in 3 parents in America financially struggle to diaper their child. 

It's an astounding statistic and it really fires people up-especially people who cloth diaper. 

There are many disposable diaper companies that raise money and awareness to donate diapers to this cause, but it's like the saying: 

If you give a man a fish he will have a single meal.
If you teach him how to fish, he will eat all his life.-- Kuan-tzu (Chinese Philosopher)

I say this because giving one family here and there disposable diapers isn't helping them to diaper their child for 2 1/2 years, the average amount of time a child wears diapers. 

There are many debates that go along with this. Some people say if you can't afford to have a child, you shouldn't. Well, that may be true, but surprises happen. Others think the government should provide diaper programs similar to WIC or welfare, which stirs up a whole different type of controversy. Then, there are those who say if a person can't afford to use disposables, they can't afford to use cloth.

I disagree. 

There are many types of cloth diapers, the cheapest being prefolds and covers-basically what our parents and their parents used, but nicer than plastic pants-which are still available.

This chart shows a breakdown of the cost to use cloth. Basically, it costs $0.06 per diaper change to use cloth vs. $0.25 per disposable. With the average baby going through 6,000 diapers before they are potty trained, the difference is significant-$1,140. Personally, I can think of many ways to use that money!

Many people don't  have access to a washer/dryer in their home, however. The cost of doing laundry in a laundromat is expensive at $4+ per load. What should these parents do?

Growing up, I remember my mother doing laundry in the bathtub. It was something we needed and it had to get washed one way or another. There are parents that choose to cloth diaper and wash each diaper after wearing. That may not work for everyone, but it is an option. If families have to use a laundromat, I would definitely air dry my diapers to save the dryer costs. 

People then argue that parents who can't afford disposable diapers, probably don't have time to hand wash cloth ones. We are really assuming here. I know many people who choose to stay at home because they have multiple children and it wouldn't make sense financially for them to put their children in daycare-they would pay more than they would make. It's a lose-lose situation. 

I don't know what the answer is here. My point is that if a parent can't afford to use a new disposable each time they change a diaper so that they have to 'wash' it out, they might as well use cloth because it will actually become clean when they wash it.

I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this sad issue. 

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