Cloth Diapering & Day Care

I am VERY fortunate to have my mom able to live with me so I don't have to worry about putting Becks in daycare.  But, I dare say most moms do not have this luxury.  And for those moms who have to put their child in daycare but want to use cloth diapers, there seems to be such resistance.  Many franchise daycare facilities don't even want to consider it, and they'll site all kinds of state regulations to avoid it. And for the most part, this is all ignorance and misconception.  I'm sure, like most people, daycare providers are thinking that cloth diapers are messy and gross and they just don't want to handle it.  And what do you do when you can't toss the dirty diaper in the trash?  Your best bet seems to be an in-home provider who has less kids and hence less mess to deal with.  So how do you approach a daycare provider about using cloth diapers on your baby?

First, I'd do some research about your state's regulations.  Every state is different, and may have specific language that you need to be familiar with in order to refute any claims of potential breach made by the provider, or to see if there are any loop holes that you could exploit... example, a doctor's note requiring the use of cloth diapers due to health issues.  I'm not promoting any moral dilemmas here, I'm just saying look out for loop holes.

The next thing I'd do is go in armed! Armed with facts about cloth diapering to dispel the misconceptions, and a cloth diaper and diaper pail for show and tell.  In this case you should take the easiest, least complicated diaper you can find.  Something that goes on just like a disposable, and is one piece.  So, my suggestion is provide pre-stuffed pocket diapers, or better yet, all-in-ones.  A good all-in-one diaper, possibly with snaps for durability or velcro for ease of getting on.  Show them how easy it is to put the diaper on, and that already dispels the pins and rubber pant mental vision many people get about cloth diapers.

Then for disposal of the diaper, provide them with a kitchen trash can from your local store... one with a foot pedal and lid.  Place a pail liner in there and show them that, like the other kids' diapers, they'll be putting your cloth ones in a bin.  Only difference is You'll be taking out the trash - when you come to pick up your child in the afternoon, you'll pick up the pail liner and replace it with a clean one.  You can sprinkle some pail freshener to keep the pail smelling decent throughout the day, though this shouldn't be a problem since the bin will have a lid.

If you can find a daycare provider in your neighborhood that is already cloth diaper friendly, awesome!  Find local mom groups and use your local network to find these people.  Another good resource is the growing database created by the Real Diaper Industry Association (RDIA) of cloth friendly daycare providers.

We can change them, one cloth diaper at a time!