Should You Use Reusable Nappies?

Having a baby means changing literally thousands of diapers between the birth and when the child is potty trained. That's why it's so important that you pick the right ones for you and your baby. The big decision, when it comes to diapers, isn't so much the brand as the type: cloth or disposable. Each type has its supporters, for different reasons.

There is no hands-down winner when it comes to diapers. There are good reasons to pick either one. What matters, then, isn't picking the best diaper for everyone, but rather, the best diaper for you. The best way to do this is to decide what you're most concerned about and then picking the diaper that is better based on that.

As far as environmental and health concerns, both diapers seem to perform comparably. If you're more concerned about water usage, then disposable is better, but cloth is the winner if you're worried about landfill space. Neither option is clearly better as far as diaper rash, either.

If the thing you're most interested in is convenience, then disposable diapers are the choice for you. The difference in convenience isn't so much in how easy they are to change, as today's cloth diapers fasten with snaps or Velcro and can be changed as quickly as disposables can, once you get the hang of it. The real convenience comes after the diaper has been used and that's where disposables win the convenience race. You just throw them away. Every time you change a reusable swimming nappy, you're going to have to wash it. That said, there are ways to make reusable diapers more convenient. If you use a diaper service that collects, washes, and delivers diapers, you aren't dealing with significantly more work beyond rinsing the diapers before they go in the pail. If you're washing them yourself, though, you'll be adding a few extra loads of laundry each week, in addition to the extra work necessary before you put them in the pail.

When it comes to cost, though, cloth diapers are the big winner, especially if you intend to have more than one child. You'll pay thousands of dollars per child in disposable diapers. With a cloth diaper, you pay more upfront, but then don't buy any more diapers for that baby, which can save you a thousand dollars or more. Any children you have after the first one will have significantly lower diaper costs.

Basically, what it comes down to is preference. If reusable nappies are an idea you really like, you have no reason not to use them. It's also important to remember that you can use both. Some people choose to use disposables when they travel and cloth at home, for example.