One Less Diaper

Consider offering your baby a potty break at diaper changes and after waking from sleeps. Over time, you will keep hundreds of diapers dry - and out of the landfills. That will mean a significant reduction in the number of diapers you'll use. (And, it is only the start of what practicing EC will bring into your life and relationship with your precious baby.)

My name is Charndra, and I've practiced EC with my baby (now toddler), Maven. It was great fun and very enjoyable, hygienic and clean, and I want to help you to experience those same joys. Firstly, however, I'd like to tell you about the dream I had last night...

I awoke this morning at 4.47am from dreams of a parched and drowning Earth. I actually had a dream about climate change and global warming! (Perhaps it was a nightmare?) I wonder if anyone else has had a dream about the environment...

I was on a journey home in my dream, through a giant multi storey shopping mall. The escalators didn't work so we had to climb down steep staircases and slither through tunnels that were automatic walkways before.

All around me the walls are covered in images, not of clever advertising graphics, but satellite photos comparing changes in the topography of the Earth. They showed the flooding of coastlines, environmental degradation, changing deltas, drying countries. I see ancient cultures being lost, our biodiversity being ravaged by the creeping changes and violent weather effects. I am saddened as I look at the pictures.

Loudspeakers don't call out specials, they exclaim about the environmental catastrophe that approaches.

Passers-by say to me:

Everyone was grim-faced. As the modern shopping town around me began to shut down, I wondered "Is everything we know going to change?"

Yes – if we do nothing. Scientists say it is already too late for the coral reefs. The impact has begun in many many places. BUT there is so much hope. We CAN do lots of little things.

Waking, I think "What can I do?". I wrote this article straight away.

So, if you're anything like me, you have a sense of environmental responsibility, a global conscience from all the classes at school, and from watching, reading and learning as the evidence for global warming has emerged and takes a priority place in the concerns of many. As it should! It is real.

You'd also know that disposable diapers are a significant polluter.

Millions of them. Every day. I read they are the third largest contributor to landfill. I don't recall where, or even if it is true, but they certainly are a big addition to the rubbish produced by young families. A necessary evil? Perhaps. Perhaps not - at least, not full time. And disposables can be supplemented with washable diapers and the most environmental solution of them all, diaper-free time in which the baby uses a potty or a toilet to do some of their business.

(Edited to add: I found the reference mentioned above)

"Diapers are the third-largest contributor to landfills (behind newspapers and food and beverage containers) despite the fact that only five percent of the world population uses them. Put another way, if they were stretched end-to-end over the course of a year, the dirty diapers would reach halfway to the moon." Source: E the Environmental Magazine Cover Story: Natural Baby, Toxic World: For Eco-Conscious Parents, Life is Full of Choices.

Becoming Part Time Diaper Free is a very viable personal initiative that YOU can achieve as a team with your baby!

You can reduce your dependence on diapers in little ways as you enhance the communication you share with your baby.

Even in the area of diaper use that all parents must manage, you can help the environment, and in ways beyond the occasional pack of eco -disposables, though I hope you consider them an essential, even if you can only afford them now and again!

It takes a subtle paradigm shift though – diapers are used as a tool, not an essential. They are there to catch accidents, not delay diaper changing.

1. Have diaper-free time for your baby on a mat – use a towel from the bathroom rail – that was going to be washed anyway!
   
   

2. Have diaper-free time for your toddler outside in the backyard on the weekend – let the grass catch a few wees as they learn about their body – if you have water restrictions like us, your grass will be happy! Have a potty nearby for impulse uses – you may be surprised by a wee in the pot.
   
   

3. Consider using some washable pants. EC pants, or training pants are used (recycled!) many times – remember that is the point! The EC versions are better than the commercial ones that may have only foam in the soaker – not much use for a puddle, though good for at home. Consider investing in some quality EC Underwear for practice and outings.

What about the +1?

Discover how to become part time diaper free!

Practicing elimination communication (EC) part time is a wonderful gift for the Earth that you can start today. Visit my website to learn more about this ancient and empowering way to care for your baby's hygiene needs. I have a free guide that you can sign up to receive, called:

"The 7 Secrets to Developing Your Diaper-Free Confidence"

With part-time EC you slowly expand your comfort zone.

Let your baby learn in the now, the present moment, about their body – it can only benefit them. This learning is also longer term – catching a few wees on a waterproof mat now won't save the environment, but it is certainly better than it going into a landfill for decades or hundreds of years.

Each diaper you 'save' by keeping it dry will make you smile for the Earth. I can vouch for that, as I make that smile every single day.

Each diaper saved is a gift to the environment - yes?

Smile for the Earth starting today.. or tomorrow .. or one day soon!

P.S. After having that dream, I joined the One Percent for the Planet program. It's a simple business initiative in which 1% of all earnings are donated to organizations who combat with initiatives to help slow the impact of global climate change.

Learn more at my website: Part Time Diaper Free!

Learning More about EC and the environment:

Have you read my page on Global Warming and EC? It talks more about the environmental impact of our diaper use customs and how you CAN make a difference to global warming.