Cloth Diapers and Daycare

By Colleen Moriarty

www.prestonspants.com

So, you want to cloth diaper?  But, how do you do this, when your child goes to daycare?  How will they know what diapers are yours?  What if they get lost or ruined?  Will the daycare even allow such a thing?

Many parents start off thinking about cloth diapering, but are unsure how to tackle the daycare dilemma.  They are fearful that their beloved cloth diapers will get lost, ruined, or thrown in the trash.  I have heard stories of such things!  This has happened to some unfortunate cloth diapering families.  They invest their hard earned money into a diapering stash that is only to be lost or thrown away by a daycare employee.

Here are some ways to protect your stash at daycare.

Be sure to have your child’s full name or initials on the diapers.

You can do this by writing on the inside of the diaper, small in permanent marker.  On the tab, inside of the diaper or on the care label.  If you are a crafty mama, you can order some labels with your child’s name on them, and sew them right onto the diaper tabs.  This won’t affect the diaper’s ability to function, and it won’t wash off, either! As long as you keep the sewing away from the wet zone, and it doesn’t scratch baby, you are good to go.

Take along two wet bags.

Provide one for dirty, and one for clean diapers.  Be sure that they are labeled as well.  This will provide a place for the dirty diapers so that they don’t accidently get thrown in the trash.

Provide disposable diaper liners.

Have them already laid inside of the diapers and ready to go!  You may get a disgruntled daycare provider who does not want to deal with the dirty diaper.  But, if you have a liner in there, they can just pull it out, and toss into the toilet (we hope) or trashcan if they are lazy.  This will also, leave you with a fairly “clean” dirty diaper for when you take them home to wash.  No dried poo to scrape off.

Write up a small inventory with photos.

List the diapers you are bringing to the daycare for the week, or day, etc.  Take a photo of your diapers, and give them a copy and you keep a copy. It doesn’t have to be elaborate.  It can just be a list such as:  10 diapers, red, blue, green, etc. and a snap shot with your cell phone.  Have a daycare employee check the clean diaper inventory, and sign off on it.  That way there will be no argument of what diapers you have given them for the week, etc.  When you pick up the dirty diapers, you may have to take a peek in the bag, to see if they are all in there.  If they aren’t, they will be held responsible, with no questions asked, since you have a signed confirmation that they had them in their possession.

Don’t send your best fluffy!

This is a no brainer… but basically, don’t send along anything of great value!  If you have a special diaper that you adore, don’t send it to daycare!  This may require purchasing some sale diapers or second hand diapers for daycare use only, if you whole stash is really nice or expensive.

Keep it simple.

Provide the daycare with diapers that are easy to use.  Pocket diapers or All In Ones, are the easiest method of cloth diapering (for most people). They can be stuffed ahead of time, and they are easy off, easy on diapers.  No fuss, no muss, leaving you with a happier daycare routine and staff members!

So, that’s basically it!  Keep tabs on your fluffy stash, by holding the daycare responsible for them, and making their life as easy as possible to avoid issues.

For more cloth diapering information and to shop a great selection of ready made and custom cloth diapers, visit Prestons Pants!