Skeptical Dads Give Cloth Diapers A Chance

Changing dirty diapers is a daunting – and sometimes dreaded – task for new dads. So, when Mohammad Suleiman’s wife, Ahna, suggested that they use cloth diapers for their newborn daughter, he was less than thrilled with the idea.

“My initial reaction was ‘heck no." I thought that we would be wrapping our child in the equivalent of a dish towel,” he confesses. “I could not visualize where the waste would go and I thought changing her would be an absolute mess.”

But Mohammad’s wife was persistent and thought that a trial period could put her husband’s mind at ease. “I suggested we try cloth for awhile and if it was a disaster, we agreed we would re-evaluate,” Ahna says. “I selected FuzziBunz diapers, which I read were the most dad-friendly option.”

Kelly Wels, a cloth diapering expert and owner of the online cloth diapering boutique Fuzzi Bunz Online, says that offering a test of the diapers is the best way to get dads on board. This is why she offers a 30-day risk-free trial period.

“It’s understandable that dads are reluctant about cloth diapers. However, once dads have the opportunity to trial the diapers and see for themselves just how easy modern cloth diapering can be, they are often quite amicable to using cloth diapers for the long-haul,” says Wels.

Mohammad says seeing is believing. “When I first saw the pocket diapers I realized that modern day cloth diapers are much different than I expected. I could see that they were form-fitting, that they came in fun colors and that they were indeed very easy to use.”

Amaya Giauque, whose son is 10-months old, agrees that trying out the diapers was how she was able to get her husband, Greg, on board.

“I wanted to give it a test run and if it didn't work out, for any reason, I told my husband that we would switch [to disposables],” she says.

Amaya says that her husband has come around to the idea of using cloth diapers. Wels says most dads are fine with wet diapers, but that dirty diapers are one of the hardest things for a reluctant dad to get over. However, most dads – including her husband – often quickly realize that the benefits of cloth outweigh such minor inconveniences.

“I’ve come around to the idea that cloth diapers are just a better for our son and better for the planet. These two major benefits make it more than worth the minor inconvenience that comes with changing a dirty cloth diaper,” says Scott Wels, who says he has enjoyed using the one-size bumGenius brand diaper available at One Size Diaper Store.

While Mohammad agrees that mess disposal is not his favorite task, he, too, says that there are so many benefits to modern cloth diapers that make it worthwhile, including the benefits to the environment, significant cost-savings and lower incidence of his daughter’s diaper rash.

Dads are more often than not able to overlook the gross-out factor when they realize how cloth diapers are easy on the wallet too, says Wels.

“Cloth diapers typically save a family at least $1,500 over the course of three years. The savings are much greater if a family reuses the same diapers for their future children,” she adds.

Mohammad agrees that cloth diapering is helping his family be more frugal, but also says that cloth diapering means they are being less wasteful too.

“We are very intentional about limiting our carbon footprint and feel that cloth diapering is a great way to walk our talk,” he says.

Greg concurs, “My wife and I are always looking for ways to help the environment and for ways to give our son the best. Cloth diapers help us do both and so much more.”

-Jenny L.,-Blog Contributor