Help! - Giving a talk to an ante-natal group

[kerala]

I have volunteered to go and talk to NHS ante natal groups about using real nappies. First session tonight! Have my little speech prepared - dont want to be too preachy but feel strongly that reusuables are great and need not be too much hassle.

If you a new parent what would you want to know about reusuables? What would persuade you to use them?

it's the chemicals in the napies which made me change over. i hate the crystals. also reusables look so much better, you don't have to go to the shops when it's raining because you've ran out (just make sure you have a good washing system going with reusables) and they can be boosted so well at night that you don't have to worry about leakages. they're are so many nappies out there that you can find something that suits. oh and if they need advice tell them about mn as it's helped me so much.

I found the fact that my local council runs free trials of different real nappies really helpful. I also like that because my ds is using a larger size of nippa nappies, he'll be able to use them for ages, so it works out cheaper than disposables. The only downside I've found (simply through lack of thinking things through properly) is that because the nappies are quite large, I can only fit 1.5 days worth into the nappy bucket in one go, so I'm having to wash them more often than I had expected (have just found a larger nappy bin online though, so hopefully problem solved)

The big deciding factor for a lot of people is the money they can save I think, good luck eith your talk

I'd emphasise how different modern ones are to old terries (everyone I meet seems to assume you still have complicated folds etc) how easy they are to clean (most people don't even bother soaking them) once you get into a simple routine, how much money you can save, how nice it is not to have stinky nappies in your bin (especially useful if you have fortnightly rubbish collections) and most importantly for me personally, unlike all the disposables I've tried, THEY DON'T LEAK! Which thankfully means fewer poo stained clothes to wash. In fact I'd only briefly mention the environmental benefits and instead concentrate on the practical advantages because I wouldn't imagine that saving the planet is the number one priority for many new knackered mums.

Good luck!

I would definitely emphasise the easyness of putting them on, and the fact that they leak less than disposables. And that you don't need to use bleach.

And a sure winner - take along a little one, especially a coloured one (Bamboozle?) and they will be sold!