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Why are diapers so expensive?

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Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#101

Post by croon »

drstewart wrote: post #93
s4vi0r wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jesus, your comment and the other replies just straight up reek of privilege/ignorance. What you're suggesting is obviously the pragmatic choice - obviously, if she's poor as shit and can't afford regular diapers, using reusable cloth ones is a great solution. But that's not the fucking point of the article - its $CURRENT_YEAR in the richest country in the world, this absolutely shouldn't be a thing that happens in t…

They also wouldn't have imagined that not making everything disposable and plastic would be a bad idea and yet here we are. Not everything is better because it happened in the past. God forbid you have to be a little bit more mindful of wanton consumption than people were in $CURRENT_YEAR - 50. Calling a country third world because you can't throw away tons of disposable diapers... now that's a low standard, or just…

This has nothing to do with the argument, at all.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#102

Post by FuckOffNeemo »

cm2012 wrote: post #90
chrissnell wrote: post #54

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

Okay, real talk. My time, according to society, is worth $300ish per hour. Hers is probably worth $10 an hour. I didn't do anything special to earn this and I'm a very lazy person. I would much rather have people like me pay more taxes and this lady not have to spend her whole day cleaning diapers.

You and I both.

How many of us would have to chip in another $10-$20 in taxes to cover those without, so a parent and his/her children can take a shit and dispose of it in a way that meats their commitments as appropriate?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#103

Post by freeflight »

rubicon33 wrote: post #47
djrogers wrote: post #28

There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo). First off, 12 changes a day is a huge outlier - even for a newborn. 8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming. Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000/yr for diapers. Again, that h…

Why would people bring a child into the world if they can't even afford diapers, will always blow my mind.

Maybe because they also couldn't afford contraception?

Life just happens, as nice as it would be for all children to be born planned into stable circumstances, afaik the reality is often quite a bit more unpredictable than that.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#104

Post by drstewart »

croon wrote: post #101
drstewart wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They also wouldn't have imagined that not making everything disposable and plastic would be a bad idea and yet here we are. Not everything is better because it happened in the past. God forbid you have to be a little bit more mindful of wanton consumption than people were in $CURRENT_YEAR - 50. Calling a country third world because you can't throw away tons of disposable diapers... now that's a low standard, or just…

This has nothing to do with the argument, at all.

It completely does. Why are cloth diapers third world? Why are disposables seen as so superior that they should be had at a discount? They should be expensive to account for their environmental cost. Just because they didn't care about that in the 50s doesn't mean anything.

So yeah, it's incredibly relevant.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#105

Post by joaomacp »

s4vi0r wrote: post #82
chrissnell wrote: post #54

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

Jesus, your comment and the other replies just straight up reek of privilege/ignorance. What you're suggesting is obviously the pragmatic choice - obviously, if she's poor as shit and can't afford regular diapers, using reusable cloth ones is a great solution. But that's not the fucking point of the article - its $CURRENT_YEAR in the richest country in the world, this absolutely shouldn't be a thing that happens in t…

Nothing is guaranteed when we are born into this world. Nature is out to get us, and it's survival of the fittest.

People who are born into wealth have it way easier, but they can still lose it all and go broke. Then they'll adapt and try to overcome it, and the ones that can adapt survive. Just like nature's always been.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#106

Post by distances »

brohoolio wrote: post #89
djrogers wrote: post #28

There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo). First off, 12 changes a day is a huge outlier - even for a newborn. 8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming. Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000/yr for diapers. Again, that h…

12 changes a day is not an outlier for a newborn, it’s normal. My son is 18 months and we change him probably 6 times a day at least. Diaper pricing is dependent on how many you buy at once, I buy giant boxes so my unit cost is low. If you don’t have $40 to buy the giant box, but only $10 to buy a small package. You are paying twice the unit cost.

> 12 changes a day is not an outlier for a newborn, it’s normal. My son is 18 months and we change him probably 6 times a day at least.

You can start potty training a kid at around one year's age though, which will decrease the need for diapers. That age depends on a kid of course, in my family it has started around when the kids learn to walk so age of 1-1.5.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#107

Post by burfog »

dandare wrote: post #85
tytytytytytytyt wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They are difficult to clean without a washing machine at home Am I the only one who thinks I could manage to clean some cloth diapers in a bucket or tub fairly easily?

Cloth diapers must be washed and boiled throughly to be hygienic.

This is certainly true if you are running a daycare, hospital, or similar. It's also true when diapers change ownership, for example when used ones are sold.

If you'll be putting them right back on the same kid, then no. Remember, you don't boil the kid's ass to be hygienic. You'll be putting that diaper on an unboiled ass. The diaper doesn't need to be boiled.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#108

Post by spacehome »

adrr wrote: post #61
mattbee wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you missed the part of the article where they talked about never having enough cash to buy in bulk, instead buying at 2 or 3x the unit cost in 5s and 10s from the corner shop.

I think thats a poor excuse. Even taking a payday loan out to buy a bulk bag(200 diapers) for $30 is more economical than buying a 10 pack every other day for $5. Pay day loan will cost $10 in fees but its cheaper than paying $75/m for diapers. And you just need do it once and save the $5 that you're spending every other day.

Maybe she could have waited until she had $30 saved up before having a kid? Crazy, I know.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#109

Post by bkovacev »

s4vi0r wrote: post #82
chrissnell wrote: post #54

This article is so frustrating. The helplessness and dependence are just sad. Cloth diapers cost less than $1.50 each in a 10-pack. If you are poor enough, you can wash them in a bucket with bar soap. That's what virtually everyone did before washers were invented. I'm saddened that this girl didn't figure this out. I know first-hand, when you're poor and desperate, you figure shit out. Unless, of course, you have a…

Jesus, your comment and the other replies just straight up reek of privilege/ignorance. What you're suggesting is obviously the pragmatic choice - obviously, if she's poor as shit and can't afford regular diapers, using reusable cloth ones is a great solution. But that's not the fucking point of the article - its $CURRENT_YEAR in the richest country in the world, this absolutely shouldn't be a thing that happens in t…

Your comment is completely contradictory.

You say the OP's comment reeks of privilege/ignorance, but you go ahead and expect government privilege in $CURRENY_YEAR.

The OP was commenting that certain people leech and do not want to find a job and help themselves, but rather want more help from the government.

I grew up with cloth diapers not because my family was poor, but just simply because it was a better choice for us at the time. My Family grew up in the 50-60s with cloth diapers, because other types of diapers weren't available. I don't see that cloth diapers are a poor-people's choice. Why is that so "third world"? Is it bellow some "level" you think should exist - that my friend is the privilege/ignorance you were smelling in other comments.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#110

Post by jiggunjer »

dandare wrote: post #85
tytytytytytytyt wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They are difficult to clean without a washing machine at home Am I the only one who thinks I could manage to clean some cloth diapers in a bucket or tub fairly easily?

Cloth diapers must be washed and boiled throughly to be hygienic.

Might depend on the age, I'd have a higher standard of sterilization for a newborn than for a 3yo.
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