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Nurseries

Find nursery advice from other Mumsnetters on our Nursery forum. For more guidance on early years development, sign up for Mumsnet Ages & Stages emails.

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Original poster

cloth nappies and nurseries

34 replies

weeonion · 27/02/2008 20:17

Hi folks! DD is due to start at a nursery in a few weeks. we have had a bit of a trauma finding a place and this is the only one we can get. They had said it was fine to have her in cloth nappies but today - I got a phone call to say that they couldnt accept these due to health and safety issues. I am due to see them on monday and want to know of other expereinces / ideas. I have offered to supply a nappy bag, a bin for this to be stored in, bottles of milton / tea tree oil and also gloves for staff. the manager has still said no.
What do other people do??

OP posts:

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KatyMac · 27/02/2008 20:21

FGS that is ridiculous

Is it a surestart nursery or a private one

I am about to open a nursery & I am insisting that all the children are in cloth (& if you send them in a disposable you will have it returned to you)

There are no H&S issues as far as I am aware - they put them in a nappy sack after pouring any poo down the loo (what sort of liners do you use, it might be worth using flushable for the nursery)

Speak to the green/recycling officer at the council?

It is discrimination

Original poster

weeonion · 27/02/2008 20:23

thanks katy. it is a private one - part of a glasgow based chain. we do use fleece liners but i would have no problem with getting flushable ones.

OP posts:

VanillaPumpkin · 27/02/2008 20:23

My dd was accepted in cloth nappies. How on earth is it a health and safety issue??? Bizarre. I just used to ask them to put the dirty ones in the bag and I would deal with them. I asked them to flush / throw dirty liners away. No problems. I think they are being a bit odd myself.

PortAndLemon · 27/02/2008 20:24

I have always been told that a nursery isn't allowed to refuse to take a child in cloth nappies. Not sure what the specific reference for this is, though -- will go and see if I can dig something up.

KatyMac · 27/02/2008 20:24

Very odd

It might be worth a phone call to the H&S executive.......to ask how you could negate the H&S dangers

Original poster

weeonion · 27/02/2008 20:25

oh yep - when i first thought of using cloth before dd was born - I rang the recylcing officer at our city council to enquire about reusable nappies and if they ran a scheme like other local councils. the guy told me that i couldnt reuse pampers! he didnt know what reusable / cloth nappies were!

OP posts:

Washersaurus · 27/02/2008 20:26

It is good practice for them to wear gloves whatever type of nappy they change anyway.

I can't see why it would be a problem, it isn't like you are asking them to wash them for you .

DS1's nursery change his nappies as they would a disposable, only they put the nappy in a nappy sack and pop it in our bag to take home with us (after tipping any poo away). They even use the cloth wipes and water instead of babywipes when I instruct them to.

Definitely have a word with the council. They should be pushing the use of real nappies in nurseries.

KatyMac · 27/02/2008 20:26

BTW staff should be using gloves anyway for changing disposable nappies plus disposable aprons and (as I understand it) disposable mats (god it isn't very green is it?)

Good job you didn't have compostable ones isn't it - they would have a nervous breakdawn

onepieceoflollipop · 27/02/2008 20:26

Yes what KatyMac said.

But from personal experience dd1 started nursery when she was 10 months old (3 years ago) and I started sending her in cloth from the beginning. (Motherease, nothing complex). I ended up switching to disposable on nursery days as "little things" kept going wrong. They were genuinely happy to take her in cloth nappies, but it was silly things like forgetting to put the wrap on or the nappy sticking out and leaking. Some days the nappy disappeared then would reappear at a later date having been through a hot wash with the bibs.

I truly don't believe they were trying to sabotage me, but she was the only one in cloth and they just weren't familiar enough with it. There were 3-4 different staff members who changed her. If I had felt strongly enough I would have persevered but at the time other things were going on and I mad the right decision at the time.

hellsbells76 · 27/02/2008 20:27

my DD's nursery have been quite happy to use her cloth nappies. they put them in nappysacks in an airtight bucket during the day, then send them home with me at night. if they agreed in the first place that's a verbal contract which they should adhere to. could you ask them what their specific h&s concerns are? cos it's nothing to do with any regulations, sounds like they can't be arsed and are doing the usual 'blame it on 'elf'n'safety' thing

local paper might be interested (nursery snubs environmentally conscious parents sort of thing)

Maveta · 27/02/2008 20:27

Hi wo.. that sounds really weird. N will be starting nursery in April and they are fine with using cloth, it's only a case of rolling the nappy up and putting it in the bag instead of in the bin. I can't see what makes it a H&S issue. Hope you manage to make them see sense.

Washersaurus · 27/02/2008 20:29

TBH I'd be worried about their attitude generally if they are refusing to accept children on the grounds of the type of nappy they wear.

I mean, how do they approach food allergies, vegetarianism, or children who require extra attention etc. They sound very inflexible and unhelpful IMHO.

trockodile · 27/02/2008 20:32

Nursery i worked at used cloth for one child and it was no different to changing any other child except that they binned liner (couldn't seem to understand flushing them and not an easy loo to get to anyway). IMO no different to storing soiled clothes etc. They should be prepared to do as you ask. Most of the staff were not that keen on them (said they smelled!)but they did it.
I on the other hand lurve cloth! I begged to change her nappies!

Original poster

weeonion · 27/02/2008 20:33

wsaherus - i agree but we are kind of stuck with them at the moment as the other nusery we had booked has just shut down. there is nowhere else available for a baby place.
I did discuss that we are babyled weaning and i will be supplying my own food and they were fine with that.

their website says that parents will supply bottles of prepared formula for drinks! nearly burst a vessel when i seen that but they agreed that it is ok to send in EBM.

OP posts:

KatyMac · 27/02/2008 20:35

They shouldn't be accepting prepared formula either best practise ids to make it up as they need it

Tut tut

PotPourri · 27/02/2008 20:35

What numpties. They are just being lazy. I was all set ot go with a childminder and the same thing happened, she said that for hygiene reasons she couldn't do it. It was so important to me that I would cancelled the arrangement - in fact, I didnt' realise how important it was to me until she said that she wouldn't. My CM uses them no problem. She has her own disposible gloves and I send a bag/well more recently a bucket as it smells less! Dirty nappies sent home every day.

Tell them that the maternity hospitals and most of the nurseries in Perth use cloth only (provided and laundered by them).

And ring H&S executive to get your facts straight. I honestly don't think they can say no

Washersaurus · 27/02/2008 20:36

Certain members of nursery staff have previously sneakily put DS1 into disposables some days thinking that I wouldn't notice the used nappy count at the end of the day. Until I told them he was allergic to them

They have also lost a few of my Motherease nappies, so like a mad woman I sat sewing name labels onto all his nursery nappies. I am regretting this rash act now as DS2 wears them too now.

Washersaurus · 27/02/2008 20:38

I had an issue with our nursery about the formula issue.

Apparently unless they have a specific approved 'milk kitchen' they are not allowed to make up formula bottles. I used to send DS in with EBM or that ready made stuff you can buy.

trockodile · 27/02/2008 20:39

Remember you are still the customer -you should not need to ask them what YOU can do. Be assertive and say this is what you want THEM to do.
They may think you are a pain but it will probably keep them on their toes!

PotPourri · 27/02/2008 20:41

My council (south lanarkshire) and the neighbouring one (north) are totally crap. I phoned them both and wrote to them about whether they had any incentive scheme for buying nappies, and like you weeonion, they had no idea. When I wrote to them, they just fobbed me off with excuses that it was hard enough to get people to recycle, so that is where they are putting their attentions. I read that as - we can't be bugged because we think no one else can...

KatyMac · 27/02/2008 20:43

WHat is a 'specifically approved milk kitchen' - I haven't planning one of them in my nursery (oh hell)

Washersaurus · 27/02/2008 20:44

Gawd it might be totally fictitious for all I know

speak2deb · 27/02/2008 20:44

I've had the 'elf and safety' bolloks from private nurseries before too. My dd is now at a Surestart nursery. She is the only one in cloth nappies, but they were really happy to acommodate me.

Original poster

weeonion · 27/02/2008 20:45

thanks folks. I will try and get hold of H&S exec tomorrow to see what they say.

OP posts:

KatyMac · 27/02/2008 20:45

Well I haven't got one & there isn't room for one & I will be pissed off if I was supposed to have one & no-one told me

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