With less than 15 rupees per diaper, the disposable diapers seem like the most viable choice. The many advertisements of these so-called disposable wonders claim that the diapers are hassle-free, super absorbent and can continue to soak for a solid 12 hours. Changing them isn’t a tedious job either. All you have to do is switch the dirty one with a new one and throw out the garbage at a particular time of the day. Things seem to work fine until the rashes come along and the pediatrician’s visits begin. Soon the unknowing parents realize that they have spent way over their budget. This is when you need to sit down and look at the bigger picture.
Let’s do the Math
During the first 3 years of your child, diapers constitute a major portion of your expenses. The 12-hour soaking guarantee is not valid when it comes to pooping and your little one will poop a lot at this age (ask me, every time I’ll sit down for a meal the poop cry is heard in the background and mommy is back on poop patrol). If you keep a count, you will see that at least 5 new diapers are required daily and assuming you are using the best quality of Rs. 15 each, the daily expense comes to around Rs. 75.
Now you may argue that even the best of brands gives discounts, especially when you buy in bulk. Taking this into account, let us slash the cost of one diaper to Rs. 10. This brings your daily expense to a minimum of Rs. 50. Which means that you spend almost Rs. 1,500 for diapers in a month and by the time your child grows out of them, your net expenditure will stand at a whopping Rs. 54,000.
And that’s just for the diapers. You should also consider the amount you have to spend for garbage bags, fuel expenses every time you have to run to the store, skin rash medications, doctor visits and all the side-effects disposable diapers bring. To break the bubble, you will find yourself a well Rs. 65,000 short just behind one baby. Do disposable diapers still seem cheap?
The story of cloth diapers
We think it’s expensive because of the initial cost. A Fig-o-honey cloth diaper will cost you around Rs. 500 for just one piece and it can come as a shock when compared against the Rs. 10 disposable one. But you can reuse a cloth diaper and a simple wash and rinse make it as good as new. At the end of 3 years, 10 to 12 cloth diapers will be all you need and the net cost at that rate comes to Rs. 6,000.
Plus, you eliminate the excess nuisances as well. Cloth diapers do not come with added chemicals and are airier than their disposable counterparts. Chances of skin rashes are reduced by almost 90% and your baby’s skin stays healthy. You do not run out of diapers in the middle of the night which leads to fuel savings as well. You will have to wash the diapers and even if you take the laundry charges into account, the cost is still less by almost 10 times than what we calculated for disposable diapers.
Look beyond your daily cost
Cloth diapers have a long life. If you look at the bigger picture, it really helps you to stay well within your budget. Break the expensive stigma that’s associated with cloth diapers and move on to this modern and environment-friendly option. Happy parenting everyone!
