Social Media & Young Parents
According to a study published in the Journal of Family Communication, new parents have a tendency to seek support and a sense of belonging through social media. Perhaps it’s because modern families have spread to distances that reduce the availability of generational support. Perhaps it’s because taking care of an infant is a naturally isolating experience. Recent research published on November, 2011 in the Maternal and Child Health Journal has also suggested that the appeal of parenting blogs and vibrant social media communities might be because of a natural and adaptive drive to belong. And the internet has become the center of the proverbial “village” that offers to ease that transition into parenthood. Except the internet isn’t omniscient, and it certainly isn’t altruistic.
Scrolling through any social media newsfeed yields dozens of articles or images offering unsolicited advice, judgment, or horror stories about all the things that can go wrong if you make even a single bad decision. A recent article in Quartz explores the reasons why most first-time parents tend to feel insecure. And those feelings of inadequacy are exaggerated by the abundance of conflicting information available. If you look hard enough, all decisions are bad decisions according to the internet. Kathleen Gerson, a sociologist from New York University, told LiveScience it is not surprising that many parents believe that even minor parenting choices have a significant impact on their child’s future.
The question of cloth versus disposable diapers sits right at the apex of controversy and fashion. Despite the fact that the environmental impact of using cloth over disposables is murky, it has proven to be perfect fodder for environmental advocates and the fashion-conscious alike.
A Little History
It wasn’t always that way. In terms of the history of mankind, diapers are a relatively new invention. One of the earliest mentions of diapers is found in Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” Diapers were basically square muslin cloths wrapped around a baby to collect waste. The modern concept of a cloth diaper didn’t appear until the 1800s, and they were only changed once every few days (yikes!). Besides, the foldable, pinnable muslin diapers were certainly more conveniently absorbent than the leaves and moss of centuries past. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the first disposable diapers hit the market. And once the manufacturing costs were low enough to compete with the cloth options, disposables became the accepted standard among new parents.
More Recently
Until the late 1990s and early 2000s. Along with the rise of social media and environmental advocacy, cloth diapers made an aggressive resurgence. Sometime around 2005, reusable diapers had become so popular that the internet coined a term for the moms who would troll second hand marketplaces for rare or collector editions of high end cloth diapers (at the low price of $300, used).
Changing Times
But has the world of reusable diapers changed so drastically in the span of a single generation? Maybe it has. My parents used cloth diapers when I was a baby. Perhaps it is the variety of options currently available that is intimidating to older generations. There are traditional flat squares of cloth that need folding, there are pre-folds, and there are even fancy all-in-one diapers that function a lot like disposables but with removable liners and adjustable snaps.
These stylish diapers are organic, ecofriendly, handmade, and as much as $50 per diaper. A single internet search yields a variety of options: limited edition prints, bold solids, and even diapers with popular culture prints. And despite the high initial cost, proponents of the newest wave of natural parenting insist that these reusable diapers simultaneously save money and protect the environment.
Media Saturation
Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the Environmental Protection Agency take an official stance on the cloth versus disposable diaper debate, but many natural parenting sites and blogs, like Penny Pinching Mom, still claim that reusable diapers are healthier, more environmentally friendly, and more fiscally responsible. Not only is there concern about the plastic biodegrading in landfills, there is also concern about the safety of throwing away human waste. The American Public Health Association points out that disposing of human feces in a landfill could introduce any of 100 different viruses (including polio and hepatitis) into the groundwater.
The Influencers
One survey on cloth diaper usage conducted in 2016 shows that the majority of parents who choose to forgo disposable diapers are between the ages of 25 and 35, and married. Many are stay-at-home moms with an annual household income between $50,000 and $70,000. When asked why they started using cloth instead of disposable, more than half said they heard about it from a friend, family member, and on social media. Many said they’d be willing to spend up to $35 per diaper.
At $35 a diaper, it seems counterintuitive that reusable diapers could be cheaper than disposables, yet this remains the No.1 reason parents claim they started using cloth. Stay-at-home moms say they saved money by buying cloth diapers in bulk, laundering them responsibly using natural detergents, and even managed to resell them for close to 50 percent of their value. Yet even when diapering cost-effectively, the overall savings of using cloth are somewhere between $20-$40 a month. Not exactly the ultra-economical move claimed by the green living blog, Growing a Green Family.
The Bottom Line
Even the most conservative comparisons of cloth diapers to disposable yield mixed results. The Simple Dollar ran a two-year analysis of both and found that reusable diapers resulted in only marginal savings of a couple hundred dollars over that two-year period. However, it’s not always just about the bottom line. Cloth diapers afford parents more control over the money they spend each month, rather than paying grocery store retail prices or cutting coupons. Parents can line-dry diapers to save on electricity, or sell some old ones to recoup the initial investment.
The Environment
Financially speaking, the great cloth diaper debate seems to come out a wash. The environmental impact of laundering cotton diapers versus throwing away disposables is a different story. A UK Environment Agency science report found that the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by using disposable diapers for 2.5 years would be less than the carbon output of laundering reusables in most cases. Even considering the additional disposables that end up in landfills, experts on low-carbon living argue that the environmental impact might still be less than using fancy biodegradable diapers or even cloth. Running full loads of diapers on cold water and then line drying could help to decrease the individual carbon footprint, but it also means stocking more diapers and investing more time, which just increases the overall cost.
Local Economy
Some parents are concerned about the chemicals present in plastic disposables and what effect that might have on their baby’s skin. A few of these chemicals are present in pesticides like Roundup and are known to cause cancer. So far no major studies have explored the long-term effects of absorbing these chemicals through the skin from wearing disposable diapers. Some children can experience sensitivity to the dyes and fragrances used in highly manufactured diapers. In these cases, the benefits of cloth over disposable diapers may be greater for an individual baby or family than for the population as a whole.
World Economy
As for the impact on the world population, it’s unclear that the production of cloth over plastic diapers is any better for the environment. There are chemicals and pesticides involved in the production of cloth diapers as well, which can seep into the groundwater and severely impact the ecosystem of countries where cotton is a primary export. When combined with an extensive amount of water, land, and labor used to grow the crops, the chemically intensive process of producing usable cotton, and increased electricity and water required to wash cloth diapers, it comes down to weighing the impact on the individual versus the impact on the world.
So, if parents aren’t recouping the promised savings and the environmental benefits of cloth diapers, what’s the appeal for so many young parents choosing cloth despite the convenience of disposable diapers? Among the reasons of choosing cloth over disposable is that they’re fun and fashionable for kids and their parents.
The Zeitgeist
Cloth diapers have created a new niche in the diaper market. Not just for parents looking to cut costs, but people interested in making a statement. These aren’t just diapers: they are now wearable social and political statements.
Social media is the perfect breeding ground for competition, and advertisers have used this medium to pump up the popularity of baby products. Currently, there is a wide variety of companies producing reusable diapers to meet the demand at a variety of prices.
The truth behind the diaper debate is also the truth behind most parenting decisions: there is no such thing as perfect parenting. Each and every individual family has to decide what choice makes the most sense for them. Because it’s all about raising happy, healthy children. There are no winners in the Mommy Wars, only profits.
Source:
Are cloth diapers really any better for the environment, your wallet, or your baby?
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/10/15/20892011/cloth-diapers-debate-parenting-advice
By Mary Widdicks Oct 15, 2019