Monday is cloth diaper question day on Change-Diapers.com. Once a week, I publish a reader submitted question, and ask my readers to answer too.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Stephanie says:
People always judge me for using cloth diapers. My family is not really that supportive of the whole thing. I guess since they all used or are using disposables, they think I should as well. What can I do to convince grandma (and others) to use our cloth stash while babysitting? I already have AIOs for them to use and don’t make them clean poop. I just wish I had some more encouragement close to home…
It’s funny that cloth diaper users are sometimes judged, when it seems we are often accused of judging disposable diaper users!
Most of my family doesn’t live near by, so I actually cloth diapered for nearly two years before my in-laws even realized we used cloth. In fact, I’ve kept the majority of my parenting decisions to myself after fuming over snarky remarks made early on about choices to use Attachment Parenting methods, buy organic foods and so forth.
We don’t have babysitters, so for me it’s easy to address any possible judgement with a shrug and a “who cares what you think” (said in my head of course!)
I find it ridiculous that anyone would have a problem with an AIO cloth diaper, especially if they didn’t have to do a thing with them after they took them off! Disposable diapers should be changed every time they are wet or soiled as well, (even though we all know some people leave them on until they’re sagging) so there’s really no extra work involved for a babysitter to use cloth!
It think sometimes people just can’t get out of the mindset that disposable and/or more expensive products must be better, and you’re just old fashioned (or poor) if you go “old school” with cloth diapers, breastfeeding, making baby food etc.
I don’t know, I don’t get people! So I’m going to ask my readers!
Have you dealt with judgement for using cloth? How did you handle it? Were you able to get family members to come around?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
I completely (respectfully!) disagree with you, Shelley. It’s my child, and what goes in him or on him at this point is up to his parents. If the grandparents wouldn’t use cloth, they wouldn’t watch him, it’s that simple. If I pumped and left breastmilk and they stuffed his gub with formula, I’d be irate, and to me this is the same idea. My kid, my choices at this point, my way or the highway.
I agree that if you are blessed enough to have your relatives babysit for free, it’s not up to you I they put your child in a disposable. Everyone expects Grandma to feed your child a few unhealthy things or buy your child toys s/he doesn’t need, so you can look at it the same way. We use cloth 100% of the time, but I can guarantee you that if we lived close enough to my parents for free babysitting, I wouldn’t be complaining if my daughter came home in a sposie! One more thing: if you are buying the sposies or if your child is having a reaction to them, then that is a problem that should be further addressed!
When we switched to cloth, my in-laws were supportive, because they knew of our financial situation (My husband’s in Graduate School) but they refused to use them. We used to bring cloth when we had them babysit (my son is now potty trained, and we have a few months before our newest princess makes it into the world) and my son would always come home with a disposable on. I refused to buy them disposable diapers, so they bought their own. (Which oddly enough they did with our first child even though we used disposables with her). I realized that it wasn’t my money, so I could really care less. I mean, if they had given my child a rash or something, I know they would have bought different brands until they found one that worked for my child. Eventually, my Father-in-law actually put my son in cloth, which was AMAZING because we were all shocked that he changed a diaper at all. We left the easiest diapers every time that we brought them, one sized, pockets, already stuffed, and with touch tape, so no snaps to be confused with. Maybe you just need to wait it out. You can show them how easy cloth is now, but that’s about all you can do, after that you just have to be patient.
We just got some weird looks, but when we just smiled as if they were foolish and said, you just use velcro or snaps instead of plastic tape and showed them it was no biggie. I actually had someone from church recently ask a bunch of questions and at the end she just said ‘they are so cute’… and you have to ask yourself HOW important is it that they are on the same page? You say: this is what we use, end of story.