Talking to parents, we find that most nurseries and childminders are now quite happy to use cloth nappies but here are our top tips on how to succeed:
- Talk to prospective childminders/nurseries about your choice of nappies. Even those who haven’t used real nappies before can be quite open to the idea once you’ve explained how they work. Physically showing them how they work really helps. If you just mention cloth nappies during a phone conversation they may envision terry squares, pins etc. People who haven’t seen them before are often pleasantly surprised at how easy they are once they see them for real.
- If baby is at nursery they may be changed by several people during the course of the day so it might be worth doing a quick demo in front of all staff so everyone understands what they’re doing. In addition to explaining how the nappies go on, it’s probably worth giving clear instructions on what to do with the nappy once it’s been used, as clearly it can’t just be thrown in the bin with the disposables. Will the nappy go in a bucket or wet bag? Does poo get flushed in the toilet or just rolled up in the nappy and placed in the wet bag ready for you to deal with at home?
- Provide disposable nappy liners. These can help with clean-up.
- Select easy-to-use nappies such as Bumgenius Freetime, BumGenius V5, Charlie Banana, Tots Bots Peenut etc. If you pre-stuff pocket nappies (maybe even putting a disposable liner in place) they are practically fool-proof.
- Provide a large wet bag for storage of dirty nappies. Bags with a handle can be hung on your child’s peg.