http://www.care2.com/greenliving/diapers-the-process-of-elimination.html
Diapers: The Process of Elimination
According to a Mother Jones article from May/June 2008, “A typical baby goes through 3,800 disposable diapers in her first 2.5 years.” Visualize this for a second. If a 34-count pack of Seventh Generation diapers (unused) registers as too bulky to pack in a sizable suitcase, try to get a handle on the landscape imprint of what nearly 112 times that amount (used) leaves on the horizon.
This was the type of statistic that made me commit to cloth diapers over a year ago. I could not live with the idea, that somewhere, there would stand an elastic-banded shrine to my child’s gastrointestinal tract. So, I opted for the old fashioned route, which was a bit more expensive and, more often, a bit messier. But each soiled cloth diaper, that I cursedly change, diminishes that mythical pile by one.
But arguments have been made/posted revealing that cloth diapers are little better than disposables after all the washing, bleaching and resources consumed to keep your child sanitary. I appreciate the effort taken to undermine cloth in favor of the synthetic standby, but it hardly sways my confidence.
However, in the past few years a third, or maybe even a fourth option has surfaced in the diaper debate, and this comes in the form of eco-friendly diaper options–almost moral hybrids between cloth and disposable. Gdiapers, Nature Babycare Diapers, and Nature Boy & Girl
Most of these new-fangled options come by way of our Euro brethren, making claims of compost-friendly, corn-based, carbon-neutral and often flushable diapers for your child. I have tried a few of these, and have been less than bowled over by their performance. But in actuality, it is just a diaper and diapers are deeply flawed requisites in our lives as parents, and I am nearly convinced that they are simply necessary evils. Nearly.
While certainly not a new idea, but Elimination Communication (or EC for short) by definition “is a process by which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues and intuition to address an infant’s excretive needs, partially or completely avoiding the use of diapers.” This process is used widely throughout the developing world with much success, so, despite our disbelief, it can be done. I spoke with a couple recently who have EC’d their child from day 13 on, and now, at 14 months, he is “eliminating” in a chamber pot, and only using the occasional diaper. Is this just kooky, utopian parenting, or should potty training begin at birth?
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7 comments
add your comment »Me, too!
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I concur.
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I also go for Elimination Communication. I found out about it only when my firstborn was four months old, but hope to try that on the next one (when we have one :) )
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As consumers of massive amounts of diapers and wipes, I think we need to voice our concerns for the environment and demand that the manufacturers become more responsible about their products. If we all demand a hassle-free, biodegradable disposable diaper, they might deliver. In 2008, they cannot claim that they don't have the technology-- they just need the incentive . . . $$.
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If you live in water-starved areas of this country, then water is considered a renewable resource! Toilets to the taps, Orange County! Plus we use a front-loader washer that only uses about 6 gallons of water per load. 6 gallons per day to wash the diapers for two kids? They'll use more once they're potty trained and able to flush the toilet!
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I like the idea of EC . . . imagine the number of environment destroying diapers we could save if we all had our babies over a potty from their first month of life. What is it about people in the developed world that (myself included) makes the convenience of disposable diapers now more important than saving the planet for the very children who we care so much about? I guess its a culture of quick fixes, but the kind of mess are we leaving behind for our kids future is a lot worse than the mess inside my kid's diaper!
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I think these are nice but I also think if I am going green, then I am also tighting my spending and might just as well use my homemade diapers that look just like these g diapers without the lining but my reuseable insert linings.
Yet, this is a great option and much better then the ones that are out in the landfields now.
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