Why use real nappies?
From birth to potty each baby typically gets through between 4,000 and 6,000 disposable nappies so changing to real nappies can make a big difference.
Better for your pocket
You baby will need around 4,000 to 6,000 nappy changes throughout its infancy. With disposable nappies costing on average 12.2p each (including in-store offers) the costs adds up.
With the variety of nappy systems available, there is one for every budget, a complete nappy kit could save you around £700 compared to disposables, even more if you use them on subsequent children. This figure even includes laundry costs of energy and detergent.
Better for baby
Real nappies work just as well as disposables and do not contain chemicals. It's important to select the right size for your baby's shape to avoid leakages and there is a wide choice of products available. You can also use booster pads to increase absorbency if needed.
It has been suggested that cloth nappied children potty train sooner, and with far less effort on their parents’ part. This has mostly to do with the fact that when a cloth nappy is wet, they can feel the sensation. Chemical laden disposables can feel so dry, your baby never gets the chance to understand what its body is doing.
Better for the environment
Around 8 million disposable nappies are used every day in the UK which adds up to around 500,000 tonnes of disposable nappies being thrown away every year. Many of these will end up in landfill sites, and because of the chemicals they contain, disposable nappies will not rot down.
Are they difficult to use?
No. Reusable nappies have come a long way from the days of terry clothes, nappy pins and boil washing. There is now a wide range of fabrics and designs available and nappies can be washed easily in your washing machine.
Visit the Go Real website (External link)for further information about real nappies.
Wigan based social enterprise, Birth2Potty (External link), also offers information and advice on how to get started. They also run regular ‘Nappucinos’ where parents can meet up, share their experiences on using the nappies and check out the latest designs. Or you can visit their Facebook page to get the opinions of parents already using real nappies.
