What is the best way to do this? I have 1 family who does cloth but they use the ones I must fold. I am no longer willing to deal with this. Please lend assistance with a letter - do I simply say I will only be allowing disposables as of X date?

Reply

Dear DCP

Due to the required amount of time necessary to fold cloth diapers, pre-folded and/or disposabel diapers will now be the only acceptable diapering supplies allowed.

I am sorry if this change causes any inconvenience for you. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you

Provider


I have a family who uses cloth diapers too and I love them but ONLY because they are the liner ones that snap and don't require any folding or plastic covers. I think they are called Bum Genuis (?)

Reply

You could use the simplest fold in the world...just twist 'em. As in, lay the diaper flat, put baby on it, twist once as you bring the diaper between his legs, and then pin/snappi/whatever. No folding involved

Be prepared to lose the client.

Good luck!

Reply

It is mostly inconvenient because I have 4 in diapers and they don't supply all the necessary supplies. If they used the all in ones I wouldn't have an issue. Thank you for advice.

Reply

This family has some dipes like this but they always bring me the prefolds, never (well 1x they brought the all in 1s but never again!). I wouldn't mind if they were the all in 1s

Reply

You could do this 3 different ways:

Dear DCF,

Effective January xx, 2013 the daycare will no longer permit cloth diapers. Please provide disposables for daycare use.

Thank you

________________________________________

Dear DCF,

Due to higher operating costs, it is required I have a price increase. Effective (date), your rate will go from $___ to $___.

Thank you for your understanding.

(This extra $10 would allow you to afford the disposables yourself.)
________________________________________
or

Dear DCF,
Beginning March 1, 2013 (or whenever you want to), I will begin charging an additional $__ per week for clients opting to use cloth diapers. This is due to the increased time and handling they require.

Thank you for your understanding.

_______________________________

Reply

Can you just ask that they bring in All In Ones or pocket diapers vs. traditional cloth diapers?

Reply

I like DWMOMs options.

The BunGenius diapers that were being talked about earlier are pocket diapers (also known as all in ones) and those are the only type of cloth diapers that I will use at daycare too. I do not want to be messing with any other type of cloth diapers however I won't even use these types unless the client provides me with the pocket diapers, the inserts and a wet bag for the dirty diapers. I also don't scrape or rinse diapers here. If they want they can supply disposable liners that way if they go #2 I can pull the disposable liner off of the diaper and flush it (they are meant for this). Otherwise they're getting their diapers back poop and all.

You can use any of the above notices depending on what you wish to do or you can simply say that the only type of cloth diapers you are willing to use are pocket diapers and list the necessary supplies. I would add in the notice that if they don't supply ALL things that you require that you will purchase disposable diapers and use those instead and then bill them for them.

Something along:

Dear DCF,

Effective [DATE] the daycare will only permit pocket diapers for clients requiring cloth diapering. All diapering supplies must be provided by the client. A supply of pocket diapers enough for the entire day, cloth liner inserts and a wet-bag large enough for the day's soiled diapers is required to be supplied daily. For children that wet excessively additional cloth liners may be needed to double the diaper's absorbancy. The daycare must also be provided with back-up disposable diapers just in case we run out of cloth diapers.

Because of health & safety concerns, soiled cloth diapers cannot be rinsed or washed at daycare. We recommend the use of flushable disposable liners for the cloth diapers so that the liner can catch most of the excrement. We will remove the liner and flush it and the soiled diapers will be placed in the wet bag and returned to the client daily. If no flushable liners are provided the diaper will be folded up and placed into the wet bag with the excrement still in it.

If you do not wish to use pocket diapers you will then be required to supply disposable diapers to be used at daycare.

Thank you for your cooperation

DC Provider

Reply

They probably saddle you with the difficult folding ones and keep the easy to use ones for home.

I would just outright tell them that if they are going to use cloth diapers, you will only support them IF they supply the all in one's or liner type.

I know it sounds bad to insist on a specific type but honestly when you have 4 in diapers plus other kids it can be really tough to deal with having to fold diapers.

I do like Silver's suggestion about twisting them. I have never heard about that before so it ight just do the trick.

Reply

So why th heck do they not prefold them ? Back when I had one in cloth diapers that was part of folding the wash. So if they do not have time to fold they need to use something else.

Reply

I don't think it sounds bad. I require a specific kind of cloth diapers or I won't provide cloth diaper service. They're just like normal disposable diapers (the all in ones/pocket diapers) so it doesn't really bother me to use those but I would never allow any other type. That just takes to long in my opinion and I tried several different kinds with my own son. Pocket diapers are FABULOUS.

The letter I drafted above is pretty much my cloth diaper policy copy-and-pasted then changed a bit to sound like a letter, like everything else if the way you do something doesn't make you happy then change it. They are probably not going to be happy about it but if it bothers them that much then they can make the decision to look for someone else willing to use flat or pre-fold diapers. If it's the family that's just irritating you in general well then this might be your chance to end the contract .

Reply

I don't mind prefolds IN a good cover. But, if they have pocket diapers, they should be bringing them to you.

I'd request either PRE-stuffed pockets or disposables since you don't care for the prefolds. I wouldn't want to have to pull the insert out or stick it in...they can buy a set of pockets for incredibly cheap on ebay. It doesn't have to be Bumgenius. (although, I like those best)

Reply

Are you kidding me? I have a baby in cloth diapers. They come in already snapped and assembled to his exact size so I only have to open them with 4 snaps, wash him with a cloth and put on his new diaper which is presnapped so I only have 4 snaps to do. It's awesome!

Reply

The dipes need to already be assembled, and must be an all-in-one or pocket. (we cloth diapered 4 kids). I am guessing you are reusing the covers with the prefolds? ABSOLUTELY not. It is not in the realm of ok to reuse covers with potential pee/poo on them IN A DAYCARE SETTING. Single use only, and straight to the wetbag. I do not dump poo, or rinse...that can be done at the end of the day at home. That extra 30 sec is a big deal when you have babies and toddlers to look after.

FWIW, during daycare hours, I didn't even dump/flush my OWN kids' poo dipes...all diapers went straight to the bucket in the garage, and I dealt with it end of day.

Reply

If they aren't sending you with everything you need to use the cloth then that has definitely got to stop. May I ask what they're missing?

I want to say, "I can't believe parents would do that!" but yesterday was my third anniversary in this business and so, sadly, I can... :/

Reply

I use cloth for my child and have one child I care for when also wears them, I require the diapers be fully prepped and ready to go. I accept whatever system the parents want but if the diapers aren't as ready to go as a disposable I won't further prep them and will put them in a disposable. Some parents just don't get it and think I'm their personal nanny.

Reply

Well part of issue is sometimes the parents use cloth, sometimes disposables. So it is always a surprise to me when child shows up in cloth. They send unfolded diapers with no all in one thing (sorry don't know terminology) and lots of the time they do not include liners although they have fancy covers that Velcro
It is mostly frustrating b/c I never know when to expect in cloth and they only send 1-2 covers so I end up delicately having to handle the wet dipes. I place them in a bag for mom to wash at home. I guess I just need to insist they supply all in ones

Reply

I think you just need to clarify your expectations to the parents whether they are sending cloth or disposables. I like EAP's mention of insisting they send whatever kind/type they want but whatever kind they choose to send they must be as easy and as ready to use as diposables.

Maybe write them up a short note outlining what you expect. Something like this:

Dear DCF

As you know, I full support families who choose to cloth diaper their child. However, cloth diapering has it's own set if issues and rules that need to be addressed. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify my policy on cloth diapers.

If parents choose to use cloth diapers, you MUST supply the following on a daily basis:

All-in-one diapers (approximately xx per day) and a clean wet bag.

If you are choosing to use foldable cloth diapers, the diapers MUST come pre-folded and ready to use. I will NOT fold diapers.

You must also send one cover for EACH diaper change and a clean wet bag.

If you fail to send the required items, I will use disposable diapers and will bill you at the rate of $1 per diaper.

All diapers will be placed in the wet bag and sent home daily. I do not rinse or wash diapers per licensing regulations.

If you have anyquestions, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Provider

I would open the discussion up with them with the above letter. Let them know what you will and won't do in written form.

I would hope they understand why you don't want to deal with the whole cloth diapering thing if they aren't sending the correct supplies.

Reply

If they want to use prefolds, they should bring about six PRE-ASSEMBLED diapers.

I'd ask for six pre-done diapers. They should already look like this.

It's not horribly expensive to buy a few more of the covers. I bet if you ask for either disposables, or pre assembled ready to go cloth, they would be willing to do that, because you aren't asking for much. Honestly, they are being a little bit lazy.

Reply

If they sometimes bring disposable and sometimes bring cloth then they obviously are not morally opposed disposables. It shouldn't be too much a stretch to require them to being only disposzbles to dc.

Reply