Each year Americans alone throw away 18 billion disposable diapers.

In perspective, this is enough to extend from the earth to the moon and back 7 times. Potty Training The difference between disposable and cloth diapers may have an effect on potty training. ABC News states that disposable diapers may make potty training harder than if a young child wears cloth diapers, because disposable diapers are very absorbent, and children do not feel the wetness as easily as when they wear cloth diapers. That dry feeling makes it harder for them to know it's time to go to the potty or if they've already urinated. Energy For those who value the environment, ABC News states that 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown into landfills every year. That creates a lot of waste in the earth's landfills. Cloth diapers can be reused over and over, so they do not create much waste in landfills. On the downside, washing cloth diapers still requires energy and water. Most parents who use cloth diapers for their babies have to run at least one load of laundry every day.

Cost Cost considerations can also weigh heavily on a parent's decision to use cloth or disposable diapers. Consumer Reports states that disposable diapers are generally more expensive than cloth diapers. Disposable diapers can cost $1,500 to $2,000 for the whole time that a baby uses them. Cloth diapers can be a lot cheaper than disposable diapers, especially if parents wash them at home rather than having a diaper cleaning service wash them.
It takes more than 500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose.

Infants require approximately 12 diapers per day and toddlers need 8. It can cost over $100 per month for an adequate supply of diapers. Government programs, including food stamps and WIC do not cover any portion of the cost of diapers. An inadequate supply of diapers may result in a baby spending the entire day in a single diaper, increasing the risk of health problems including diaper rash and hepatitis. A baby crying non-stop from being in a soiled diaper for a prolonged period of time is more likely to be a victim of abuse. Low income parents cannot take advantage of free or subsidized childcare if they cannot afford to leave a days supply of disposable diapers at the childcare center. If parents cannot access childcare, then they are less likely to attend work or school on a consistent basis, leading to increased economic instability and a continuation of the cycle of poverty

Diaper Usage

In the first two years, the average baby will require between 5000 to 7000 diaper changes. As of 2004, approximately 1.7 billion disposable diapers were used each year in Canada, accounting for 85 percent of the diaper market. Before disposable diapers were introduced, all babies in North America were diapered in cloth. Within 10 years of the arrival of disposable diapers on the market, the number of cloth diaper users quickly dwindled to 10 per cent.

Disposable Diapers

Over 4,000,000 disposable diapers are discarded per day in Canada. Approximately 250,000 tonnes of disposable diapers are sent for disposal each year in Canada, according to 2004 figures. Disposable diapers represent approximately 3 percent of the total quantity of residential waste for disposal in Canada. Effluents from the disposable diaper manufacturing process (plastic, pulp and bleached paper) are more damaging to the environment than the cotton and hemp growing and manufacturing process used for cloth diapers.

Cloth Diapers

Cloth diapers are related to water and air pollution because of the water and energy used to wash and dry them. This is particularly important in areas with water shortages. Another concern is the higher level of wastewater particulates associated with flushing away the contents of cloth diapers. Home laundering of cloth diapers produces greenhouse gas and other emissions from energy consumption in the dryer. Line-drying diapers when possible can reduce these emissions. Cloth diapers may encourage babies to potty train faster than disposables, because with disposable diapers, the babies seldom feel any wetness or discomfort.

Prince William was the first heir to the throne to wear disposable diapers.

Diaper lover" (or DL for short) is the popular term for a person who feels a strong desire to wear or use diapers without physiological necessity. This paraphilia is differentiated from infantilism in that those of the latter category are also focused with returning to babyhood in ways other than by wearing diapers. These desires are not related to pedophilia or infantophilia in any way. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Paraphilic infantilism is the desire to wear diapers and be treated as a helpless infant. ... Did you know adult diapers outsell baby diapers in America?

DID YOU KNOW Atlanta is the poorest city in the United States for children. More children in Atlanta live in poverty than in any other city. Nearly 40,000 families in the Atlanta area earn less than $15,000 in household income, and Close to 50 percent of all the children in Atlanta48 percent live in families with annual incomes of less than $15,000 a year. According to Huggies Every Little Bottom study, 52 percent of the families surveyed have had difficulty meeting essential household expenses within the last 12 months. The costs of caring for a baby are high. On average, it can take anywhere from $8,000 $11,000 to care for a baby in the first year, with more than $1,000 being spent on diapers. Diapers alone can cost as much as $50 to $80 per month. About 25 percent of mothers have had to cut back on other infant need items in order to supply enough diapers, and another 12 % of mothers have had to skip utility payments to provide diapers. One in three American moms struggle to provide their babies with basic essential-diapers. This is called diaper need, and theres very little help or public resources that address this issue. Government aid programs (WIC, Food Stamps, Medicare) do not allow for low-income families to purchase diapers. The lack of government funding can be a huge struggle for the many metropolitan Atlanta families who cant afford the expense of diapers, forcing them to resort to extreme measures. Even with government assistance for child care, without an appropriate amount of diapers children cannot be taken to daycare. Explanations In Georgia, several government agencies help families in need in different areas. Temporary Assistance for poor children and their caretakers, also known as TANF or welfare, is the monthly cash assistance program for poor families with children under age 18. This only covers the basic needs for children: food, clothing, and other basic needs such as formula, wipes, and clothes. Especially in single parent households, this cash is not enough to supplement income to pay for rent, bills, and other monthly expenses. Babies Cant Wait (BCW) is Georgias statewide interagency service delivery system for infants and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities and their families. However, this is only specifically for children with special needs and does not focus on the needs to babies in general. The State of Georgias Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program helps Georgia families pay for early childhood and school age care programs. Again, this government funded program is focused mainly on childhood education but does not take into consideration what the child needs in order to be at these facilities.