Diapers Q&A

Do you think the diaper-free baby movement is viable?

I do not. Unless you think babies can defecate and urinate wherever and whenever it is not viable and poor countries such as in asia and africa are being irresponsible by avoiding diapers however that is part of the third-world lifestyle i suppose. From an environmental and personal viewpoint, getting rid of diapers would be a godsend since they are negative things that get full of baby junk. the tv commercials are a waste and baby-changing stations could be gone from public bathrooms hence freeing up some space. plus, nobodys going to miss those ugly diaper bags. unfortunately there is no way to reconcile these two arguments because diapers are a necessary evil and they are here to stay.

Public Comments

1. Way to pick a fight. lol
2. I've seen a few people on tv who do this. But I know I will never do that with my kids. I don't want my life to revolve around my baby's bathroom needs. When I have kids, they will wear diapers until their potty trained.
3. I hope your joking. You could use cloth diapers, but than you'd have to clean them!
4. I saw the yahoo headline about this today too. Everytime I hear this, I shake my head. No, I definitely do not think it's viable. I think it's simply a way for people to say "my kids better than yours" or a way to avoid spending money on diapers. Biologically, children cannot be potty trained until a certain maturity, so expecting them to do so when they're born is rediculous. If people are trying to make things "easier" on themselves, seems to me diapers are "easier". With Elimination Communication, the parents are constantly guessing when the child is going to go...that seems like too much work to me. And what a mess when you miss-guess! I personally don't feel any negative thoughts towards diapers, the are part of what's necessary to have children - which is all good. I also have never used a diaper changing station in a public bathroom, so they could get rid of those anyway. They don't take up any room anyway as they fold up to the wall.
5. I think your opinion is just a little biased..what does diaper free movement have to do with how much space a baby change station takes up in a rest room? It hangs on the wall folded up for petes sake, is it that much more of an eye sore than a tampon dispenser or a condom machine? third world countries do things differently because there lifestyles are different, would you care if your children wore diapers if they ran around outside all day long practically naked from the moment they could crawl till adulthood? Probably not, and nor should you if that was the case, but society for americans and whatnot does not allow or accept this kind of behavior, people who try to act upon "diaper free" movement practically have to live in their bathrooms until children are old enough to really be potty trained (2-3 years old) they are not really potty training children at a young age like they believe, they are conditioning children to circumstance much the same way a puppy is first paper trained, then trained to go outside... Although diapers are a major environmental issues there is always the option of cloth diapers - so before you go taking out baby change stations think of people who are being good to the environment and not being ridiculous training there children like a dog
6. I think that every child and parenting style is different. What works for one child and mother will most likely not work, at least not the same way, for another mother or another child. It would be less hassle to not change diapers every couple of hours but if you think of everthing else babies learn to do in the first few months I think that postponing the potty training until 9-12 months would be beneficial for both babies and mothers. (besides, how many of those babies go to the bathroom outside without knowing that they had to go beforehand?) Most end up getting up in the middle of the night to feed their baby what is wrong with changing a diaper instead of making a half asleep baby go to the bathroom. But like I said, if it works then great, but if it doesn't that is fine too. We all need to find what works for us and our children...not by what a culture or fad says we should try.
7. I think its another unrealistic expectation being put on parents by society who expects child prodigies that can do calculus and play Mozart by the age of 4. I agree that diapers are yet another source of waste in landfills but I'm convinced we can come up with biodegradable diaper and not convinced that most babies can be taught this method and parents who are unsuccessful have yet another thing to feel inferior about. Also, if I saw someone having their baby pee in a public bathroom sink, I would personally be offended. That is just nasty. I spend a lot of time on the Y Answers pet forum and there are too many people who are wondering what is wrong with them because they can't housebreak their dogs. Now we are going to have a whole crop of parents feeling guilty they can't "housebreak" their babies from birth.
8. I've lived in Asia and Africa and I always wondered how parents handled the no-diaper thing. I don't think it is an irresponsibility issue, it is simply an economic one. Diapers, even cloth diapers, can be really expensive for a family in a country that has an average family income of $140 per year. I had friends in Africa, who made between 30 cents and a dollar a day. Imagine trying to feed your kids, let alone keep them in diapers, with that amount of income. Overall, I feel that this is a personal decision for each family. At first I was skeptical of the diaper-free option. However, if parents can teach their infants to use the toilet, and have the time and energy to devote to this method, then they should go for it...as long as they are responsible and they can avoid 'accidents' in public. But if you want to put your kids in diapers, then you should do that, too. Bottom line, in my humble opinion: parents should be empowered to do what is best for their children.
9. pooping in the street or yard in a third world country where the adults dont wear clothes and do it too is one thing..letting youre child pee in a sink or poop in a park in america or somewhere of equal status, is disgusting. although i agree diapers are a waste hazard as they dont decompose quickly and are filled with human waste, going diaperless may not be the remedy...anyone heard of cloth diapers in the last 20 years.? even though i know the issue of waste with using disposable diapers i admit i dont have the patience in me to use cloth...but i definately wouldnt let my child pee in a sink as an alternative. if you want to go diaper free fine by me.,....but hold you're child over a toilet not a sink or hole in the ground, or behind a tree