“The most significant environmental impacts for all three diaper systems were on resource depletion, acidification and global warming. For one child, over two-and-a-half years, these impacts are roughly comparable with driving a car between 1,300 and 2,200 miles.”The Diaper Debate - Are Disposables as Green as Cloth? ABC News

Author: Kalwant Rana
As a new parent, you want the very best for your child, and with the countless baby products flooding the market, this means you can pick and choose to your satisfaction. Moreover, many options are available to today’s parents, and it is up to you to make up your mind about what’s best for your child.

Is breastfeeding better than the bottle, what brand of baby food is more healthy, or, oh dear, shouldn’t the nursery be painted a mild and soothing green instead of all this pink? Should you opt for cloth diapers or disposable diapers? What type should I go for, all in one cloth diapers or cloth diapers prefold ! aaaaaaaarrrrgggghhh Help!

Relax. The most important thing when raising a child is to make sure he is healthy. Just as proper nutrition is essential for your baby’s welfare, so is hygiene and cleanliness. While nutrition can be easily taken care of with regular feedings of breastmilk, hygiene is a different matter. Babies expel a lot of waste, and keeping them clean can be a daunting task. The solution? Cloth diapers, of course!

There are disposable diapers and cloth diapers. Disposable diapers are easy to use; you use it once and throw it away. No washing, no fuss! However, disposable diapers are made of chemicals that can harm your baby’s sensitive skin. Also, with its synthetic texture, disposable diapers are not comfortable, and babies are prone to develop rashes or allergies. Cloth diapers made from natural fibers are a welcome change from disposable diapers as they are soft and soothing to the skin.

A nice alternative if you want to avoid disposables, the thought of cleaning cloth diapers makes you ill, and you either do not want to try elimination communication or you need a diaper backup: G Diapers You flush the waste in the toilet where it belongs and reuse the outer portion of the diaper which is cloth. Super cool and environmentally friendly!

Raising a child also means rising expenses! A baby will go through up to a thousand or more diapers before his first birthday. Disposable diapers cost more than cloth, but in this case, being expensive does not necessarily mean it’s better. Cloth diapers are lower-priced and are reusable. So, one cloth nappy serves as well as many disposable ones.

To further cut expenses, using second hand cloth diapers is a good idea, and after your baby has outgrown them, you can donate them to other parents or reuse them for your next child, thereby reducing waste. If one baby will use more than a thousand diapers in a year, imagine the amount of garbage generated in a city from diapers alone! While disposable diapers contain chemicals that do not decompose, discarded cloth diapers are absorbed back into the environment, and are thus very eco-friendly.

In the modern nuclear family where both parents work, washing cloth diapers may seem like a tedious process. A gentle wash in the washing machine solves this problem. Some popular brands of cloth diapers are: the Bumble sized shape diaper, Rainbow Bots and Prorap All in One Diaper. Terries are flat squares of terry toweling that can be shaped into diapers. These are all diapers that are sized, shaped and have a high second hand value, meaning they are very durable. Almost all brands of cotton diapers are made of light cotton-based material.

Comfort for your baby comes first, and with the menace of harmful chemicals in disposable diapers, cloth diapers seem the only solution. Comfortable, hygienic, eco-friendly, durable . . . with so many merits, it is no wonder cloth diapers are replacing disposable diapers everywhere. There can be no doubt that cloth diapers are so good for your baby!

Sheryl’s comment: It does not matter what your motivation, elimination communication is the superior choice for “diapering” alternatives. Trying to save money? Want to make the healthiest choice for your baby? Want the most eco-friendly option? Check, check and check. Skip the diapers altogether. It’s a time tested tradition that is quite simply better for everyone

About the author:
Kalwant Rana is A Freelance Writer For http://www.nappiesanddiapers.com. He has written many useful articles on all kinds of Cloth Diapers.
Image Source: http://flickr.com/photos/97445131@N00/456344654/