Cloth Nappies in Childcare. Can I send Cloth to Nursery?

Over the last few years I’ve heard many other cloth nappy parents worry about sending their cloth nappies to nursery or other childcare settings. Why? Because they are worried their childcare will say no and they will end up having to buy disposables for your baby to wear.

You can absolutely send your child to nursery with cloth nappies. Most nurseries will have used them before, be familiar and willing to work with you. Simply ask when looking around a new nursery or childminders if cloth nappies are okay with them. If not, ask why and talk through how you can make it work.

There’s many ways you can make this set up work for both of you, from the types of nappies you send to saving your nursery money on waste. It’s all about communication. Asking really isn’t something to worry about, I looked around three nurseries when choosing one for my daughter and all said they would be more than happy to use cloth nappies. In fact I’ve even converted a few nursery staff members too using them on their own children now they have seen just how easy they are.

Tips for sending cloth nappies to childcare.

Ask when looking around a nursery.

As I mentioned above I asked at all the nurseries I looked at. Some said they had previously had children with cloth nappies and we familiar. Others had no experience but were totally fine with the idea.

Pick simple nappies to send in.

I go with velcro nappies for nursery. I much prefer poppers but I just think that velcro is the most like a disposable. I go with Bambino Mio Mio Solo, Alva Velcro, Tots Bots, or Close Parent Pop Ins. I stick consistently with these nappies so once nursery are used to them they know exactly what they are getting when they open the nappy bag,

Put together an easy and consistant system for nursery.

I pack the same bag in the same way every week for them so there is no confusion. It seems silly and I know they are more than capable, however, my worry and I know the worry of many cloth parents is that we will be known as the awkward ones. Or nursery seeing our nappies as more work. For my own peace of mind (and it does seem to work for nursery too) I stick to a simple system that never changes.

I pack four nappies for the day. Making sure they are all ready to go with liners inside (I still use reusable liners at nursery, more on this later.) A clean cloth bag with spare clothes. (I put these in a bag to keep them separate and neat.) One huge wet bag to put all dirties in and a small wet bag with pre-moistened cloth wipes in.

I know some parents like to take enough nappies in for the week and take all dirties at the end of the week but I like to do one day at a time. That way I know what nappies I have, there’s no chance of any going missing and I’m sure nursey don’t want they dirty bag in the way for more than one day. Nursery seem happy with this routine, no complaints from their end. In fact some of her teachers rave about her nappies and have even said they would use them if they had any more children. I’ve even heard them chatting about cloth to other parents and asking for my advice.

Tell them not to worry about the poo.

I’ve always told nursery not to worry about dealing with the poo. I’m more than happy for them to ball the nappy up, dirty wipes inside, for me to tackle when I get home. Wet bags keep any bad smells in and once things are a little drier it’s really no big deal to sort at the end of the day. However they do have a toilet near the changing table and have always shaken any poo off. Apologising to me if its happens to be a messy one and not as clean as they would like. I’m so grateful for their commitment and thank them endlessly.

Do I use disposable liners at nursery?

Which brings me to liners. I could send nappies with a disposable liner for them to bag up and bin but honestly I just carried on with what I knew and used fleece liners. There’s been no problem with this. I’ve never like disposable liners as I think they cling wet to babies bottom and nursery would still have to deal with the poo if they bagged up liners so I don’t see the need to change from our nice soft fleece.

Trust them with the fit.

When I first sent my daughter to childcare, whether at nursery or with other family members I really worried about how they would fit my daughters nappies. There’s so much info on “the right fit” out there, how a poor fit will cause leaks, which of course is true but like when I started using cloth nappies you learn and you learn quick. What’s the worse that could happen other than you have a little leak.

I gave a quick speech on the best way to put them on to my Mum, nursery workers, Aunties. I’ll admit the first couple of times she came home the fit was questionable. But there were no leaks and I didn’t want to offend so I just left it. By week two things looks better and better.

Trust that everyone else has common sense and will figure it out. Even if they have a fit guide and remember what you’ve told them it will take a couple of tries. Before you know it they will be doing it with their eyes closes.

I was worried they would do them to tight and my daughter would be uncomfortable, (I know Mum’s worry too much). Again trust that people have common sense, and your child will make it known if they are uncomfortable.

If your still worried, or the nursery let you know they are getting consistent leaks you can suggest giving them a fitting guide. The Nappy Ladies Fit Guides are really great. Print them out and pop them in your child’s nursery bag. You can find them here. Be sure to tell them you’ve put it in there incase their unsure or if someone new comes to do your babies nappies and needs some guidance. If you don’t they may think your telling them their doing it wrong without talking to them and this may upset them. It’s all about communication.

Your going to be saving your nursery money.

Nursery go through hundreds of nappies every week, having to pay for the amount of waste collected. Remember this if your unsure. The more babies in cloth the less they will have to pay out.

You may use cloth wipes at nursery too.

We send our daughter with cloth wipes too. I send them pre-moistened in a little wet bag, again to keep things for nursery as easy and possible, they throw everything in the dirty wet bag for me to collect at the end of the day. It’s really no different to disposable wipes if their using your cloth nappies too.

If its a no perhaps question whether this nursey is for you.

There really is no reason a childcare provider should say no. If they do, ask them why and talk it through. It is usually the unknown that puts people off. There is no hygiene reasons that should stop you, providing you send clean nappies and take all dirties away. No different to their bin full of nappies that will be taken out at the end of the day.

If they are still a no why not consider looking for another childcare provider. You are after going to be paying them for a service and you should be able to work together to meet each others needs.

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