Many women get resistance from their partners when it comes to cloth diapering. I'm going to stereotype heavily in this post, and I know there are a lot of men out there who don't fit these generalizations, but just go with me here -- it'll be useful to many, I promise.
So, you want to cloth diaper. Whether it's baby #1 or #6, sometimes daddy isn't on the same page. How to convince him? Try these.
- Dollars and "sense" - Lots of men (mine included) see things in numbers. Explain to him how much money you'll save, and he might see things your way.
- Show him it's EASY. - Start him with All-in-One styles or stuff pockets ahead of time for him. Make it just as simple as using a disposable.
- Take more on yourself. - Tell him he won't have to worry about the wash routines. Take care of that part yourself and you might have a lot more willingness to try.
- Make it convenient. - Set them out where they're easily grabbed. Make diaper pails accessible. MORE accessible than trash cans.
With my husband, I had to bring in the money savings, explain that it wouldn't be any more work for him (I do the laundry) and I usually pre-stuff pockets as well. He whines when cloth wipes aren't in their bin and when I haven't had a chance to put the clean diapers away on their shelf. He likes to know exactly what to use, where they are, and how to use them. If he thinks there's a chance that he'll do it incorrectly, he's just not going to do it. If your partner is willing to try, make it easy for him to succeed.
You'll be glad you did!
By Guest Blogger - Casey U.
5 comments:
This is my husband as well! Totally rings true. Our daughter is three months old and we've been cloth diapering since about 2 weeks old and he still always asks "okay, now which one do you want me to put on her". That's okay with me, I'm just happy he's on board with it now! He originally wanted to use disposables, but I kept talking about the savings and once he saw how red her little bottom got when we went back to disposables a time or two, he was sold. Now he's a big champion for cloth diapering (he even tells his mom how great it is for our girl)!
my hubby was like "HECK NO" at first...but he was thinking cloth meant the safty pin meathod and was afraid he would poke the boys and stuff (we have two that im CDing - 16 month old and a 4 month old). Once he saw how easy it was and that i pretty much have everything ready for him (he likes the pocket ones and that i already have them ready to go).
I told him the same about wash...that i will just do it, but he has offered to do it. He does not like to rinse poop diapers at all (which i get) will rinse pee ones no issues...i normally just tell him to leave in utility sink and ill take care of it (i alawys rinse before i put in pail and then rinse again come wash day).
He has really come around tho...so it is nice to have the husband on ur side. Now i just gotta stop buying so he can SEE the money savings lol...they are so darn addicting.
My hubby has been my biggest cheerleader for cloth diapering. At first he was all for it because we saved $... then he smelled a disposable about 5 months later and gagged. Now he is encouraging me to buy more and make sure I have as many as we need because he likes to pick out her diapers as much as I do! We are about a year into cloth diapering and expecting another bundle in about 6 months who will be cloth diapered from day one!
We didn't even think about cloth diapers until some friends of ours introduced us--I think a big selling point (for both of us) was the husband's comment about not having to buy diapers and how much money they were saving. We recently had to go out of town unexpectedly for 3 days and bought a package of disposables and disposable wipes. My husband kept saying, " I can't wait to get home to our Bum Geniuses"-I couldn't either after 2 blow outs (which had never happened before with our BG) and some bottom irritation,
My husband was skeptical at first. He went asking friends and family who have children and didn't get good responses about cloth diapering. I tried to educate him and even tell him it would save money. He was not buying it and kept coming back to me with something he heard that made cloth diapering seem not so suitable. Thankfully the city we live in has a cloth diapering store. The store is kind enough to hold a free class once a month that informs anyone interested about cloth diapering. I took my husband to it so he could see them in action and see how cute they were feel them and practice on a doll. He was not excited to go at first but after the class he was so pumped up for cloth diapers. The whole ride home he was telling me how cute they were how easy it seemed and just going on and on. His family is not supportive of our decision but DH is happy to be doing cloth because now to him "it just makes sense".
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