I just wanted to follow up on the last post about nappy need.
In a time where utility prices are going up dramatically, as is food and fuel and rent, some 'necessities' tend to go by the wayside.
One thing I never thought would be sacrificed is a clean bum for your baby.
Unfortunately, that's just not true.
Now, I couldn't find any Australian statistics - which is disappointing - but Huggies did a study in the US and Canada and found that 1/3 American mums and 1/5 Canadian mums are running out of nappies for their kids because of financial hardships. 20% of mums are leaving their babies in nappies for longer to conserve them, 7-11% are just using more nappy cream and 3% are re-using dirty disposable nappies. That's just heartbreaking.
I don't want this to be a cloth v's disposable post. We use cloth part time for our son. Modern Cloth Nappies are a big outlay initially, but they save heaps in the long run. And there is the alternative of using the old fashioned terry flats. I think, what I really want to demonstrate, is the desperation of mums who are in financial hardship.
Which makes something like our little project all the more important. Organisations like Foodbank take donations of goods such as nappies. And yes, they are more expensive than your standard can of tomatoes or packet of pasta. But maybe once, before Christmas, you could spare a couple of extra dollars to give a baby a clean bum.
Just an idea
If you want to check out the huggies study you can find it here
We will be donating our food and other items to Foodbank. You can find them here
And the only domestic nappy donation service I could find is here. If you know of another, or any information about Australian need for nappies or other baby items, I'd love to hear about it
I could come at buying some eco disposables, but I can also see that it would hard for a charity to distribute them, as they are all sized. :/
ReplyDeleteBut maybe it is enough to know that the food items donated are going to lessen the burden, so hopefully that in turn will lead to clean bums?
This is heartbreaking!
ReplyDeleteWe use cloth for our babies, and it certainly works out cheaper, but the care load is quite high and might be overwhelming for someone who might not own laundry facilities or have the time or organizational skills to keep the supply of clean ones ticking over. I will definitely be adding nappies to the hamper now!