"My values, our values, aren't about pointing fingers. They are about offering a helping hand."---Kathleen Blanco
On Friday, I read an article about a struggle many women face--finding a way to afford diapers for their babies. You can read this insightful article here.
This article brought back memories. When my oldest grandchild was born, our kids (the parents) struggled. I retired and offered to watch the baby when my daughter-in-law returned to work. We wanted to help them as much as we could and free daycare seemed like a good way. But then we learned the price of things like diapers and formula and we made sure they knew that we had already purchased and had those items here.
These days, I don't really know how parents make ends meet. My friends who are newer grandmothers tell me daycare is $1000/week. The price of diapers range from $11 to above $30; the price is contingent on how many diapers one purchases. Interesting but also telling...a lot of the boxes talk about weight and not how many diapers one is getting.
I'm not buying that much this year but I am donating what money I can and found a diaper bank in my valley and donated to it. More importantly, I'm writing to my representatives to learn what they intend to do to help all families.
I urge you to do the same. I know that many of you may understand that a lot of basic funding for poorer families and lower middle class families may be cut with the current administration. No baby should be without basic provisions.
Thanks and have a good day!
I had 5 babies in less than 7 years. We didn't use disposable diapers. They are and were expensive and pollutants. I rinsed them out in the toilet , put them in the diaper pail. Then they'd get washed with bleach. Just another load of wash. Before we had a clothes dryer, I hung them on radiators to dry. Never ran out. Never had to buy them at an over priced convince store. Never put them into landfill or the ocean. I can remember my mother down in the basement washing diapers for my twin sisters using a ringer washer. My grandmother had 4 of her children in 30 months--twins again. She had no running water, no electricity on the farm. Yet, we all lived! And we didnt pollute. You may have guessed, I'm not a big fan of disposable diapers.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with you, all my family used towelling nappies and like you we put them into a nappy bucket to soak (we used soap powder not bleach). If everyone washed nappies instead of binning them they'd only have to buy once. We could never have afforded the disposable ones even if we wanted them. Less work but more polluting. Elaine in UK
DeleteYour illustrations are always so charming! I've never had children so I can't compare costs then to costs now -- but when I've contributed to diaper drives I have been shocked at the expense! And because I can afford to help, I do.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very worthy cause! We had our first in 1970 when my husband was working at his first job, and my folks supplied our diapers for us until we were able to "get on our feet". It was such a blessing. I don't know how parents do it nowadays.
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