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Do you have left over nappies? Has your baby grown out of them and you have just found a bunch that you don’t need? Don’t throw them out, give them to someone that can use them.
On Friday while at The Bloggers Brunch, I heard a lovely talk from a volunteer from The Nappy Collective. She said that some mothers who are struggling have a choice; buy food for their baby or buy nappies.
I know what I would choose…food outweighs the nappy option. However this is not much of a choice. Nappies are essential for the baby but food is more essential. I cannot imagine being faced with this dilemma and have to sacrifice an essential item for my child. I know that many have done this and more might be placed in circumstances out of their control, then are faced with decisions like this.
“Every year there are 350,000 babies born in Australia” (Nappy Collective Video). There are so many nappies that can be collected to help a family in need.
Many women are in this predicament due to the following:
- Not enough money to spend on essentials. All the money goes to keep food, and a roof over the families heads.
- Domestic violence – The mother and child/children leave and end up with just the clothes on their backs and not much else. Many women flee to a shelter or the like and are reliant on donations until they get back on their feet.
- Relationship breakdown. Divorce is a big one that means that women mainly are left with little to no money and of course they are predominately the primary carer for the kids. This means that what little money they do have is like the first point, goes on essentials for life rather than some other essentials.
“Nappies are a basic essential child care need. A new born can require 10-12 nappies a day and toddler can require 6-8 per day. Families with limited incomes may have to choose between clean nappies and other basic needs such as food for themselves. Lack of frequent nappy changes can cause subsequent health issues and can be very distressful for an infant, potentially compounding an already stressful situation. Low income families may also not have the opportunity buy in bulk resulting in an inequality of spending power.
By passing on your leftover unused nappies you are providing a resource to these families which can reduce a financial burden and assist with healthy growth and development of their children in early childhood. Parents have more time to focus their energy on their parenting and other daily challenges they face. “ (The Nappy Collective Website)
So what can you do?
- Donate your nappies that you no longer use. Don’t throw them out! There are people that will use them and be thankful for them!
- Get in touch with The Nappy Collective to find out where you can drop them off so you can help a mother and family in need.
- Volunteer your time to help with this cause.
- Get Involved: Business can become a drop off point, you sponsor The Nappy Collective and of course you can volunteer as an individual.
We have just missed the collection for Oct/Nov but there is one in Feb/March of 2015. Contact The Nappy Collective to learn more.
Unused nappies will not be the same again to me. They will be sent to people who need them and can really use it to help their family. Make sure you spread the word and help families that really need the nappies.
I used so many nappies when the twins were babies. I cannot imagine not being able to afford nappies for the twins!
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