Donating diapers

[luuknam]

Thanks to the free tampons thread, I'm thinking of donating diapers (when we were on WIC, the WIC counselor mentioned she often saw kids who were obviously wearing the same diaper all day, with diaper rash, etc).

 

I'm wondering what brand would be best to donate. Personally, Pampers seemed to work best for us when we were poor, because 2-3 diaper changes per day were enough without leading to diaper rash, whereas 'cheaper' diapers really *needed* to be replaced 5-6 times a day or more to not have the kid sitting in wetness, getting diaper rash, leaking, etc, so that they were actually more expensive. That said, I'm not sure if people would end up selling high-quality name brand diapers rather than putting them on their kid. Obviously, some people would sell anything, and some people would put their kids first no matter what, just wondering whether it'd overall be better to go with cheap diapers despite the fact that the moment the kid pees the diaper needs to be changed, or not. Thoughts?

[Rachel]

Our church supports a diaper bank for homeless families. They appreciate any donation. My rule of thumb for donations is to donate the same brand I use for my kids. My kids are no longer in diapers but I tend to donate name brand.

[vonfirmath]

I did not notice needing more diapers when I was diapering. But yes, I'd donate the same diapers I'd use on my kid. -- Sam's Club, CVS, and Target brand were three favorites. Sometimes Huggies. Never Pampers around here. The smell was too much for me.

 

[theelfqueen]

Anything you want to donate will be appreciated! :)

[Arcadia]

The little gym my kids went as toddlers is a host site for diaper bank. The common donations are the huge box of Walmart and Kirkland brand diapers, Pampers and Huggies newborn pack.

 

Ikea and some shopping center's family room used to have baby diapers for customers who ran out while shopping. They put a few of each size. Those were usually Kirkland probably because the companies get cleaning supplies from Costco.

[Ravin]

Many stores won't take back diapers without a receipt entirely because some people will try and return donated diapers to get cash for drugs or buy booze, etc.

 

This is not what MOST people who face financial hardship and are given diapers for their children would do, however,  so when choosing, go with what you know works best when someone is trying to be frugal and make them last.

 

I for one would have had to rely a LOT on diaper banks/donations when my DD was little had we not been set up by my mom with cloth diapers. We were fortunate to have a washer/dryer in our home, though--without those CD'ing is not a practical option for many people of limited means, especially when they have to work long hours, not all day cares will accept them, etc.

[heartlikealion]

I was kinda poor when I had ds. We had WIC and Medicaid but I don't think it influenced my diaper changes at all. We did use a cheaper brand, though (Walmart's Parent's Choice). But ironically they worked better for us than the expensive brands (we tried a few). Fit varies from child to child. With dd we have tried a number of brands and ended up back with Pampers, though recently started using pull-ups. I'm actually quite annoyed we didn't notice til after opening them, but our pull-ups are for boys. I have no recollection of some being designed for boys vs girls. We're still using them, but I imagine the others will fit her a little better (the main difference being where the absorbency is, but it seems these don't fit her tush too well. I even put one on her backwards deliberately lol).

 

The hospitals use Pampers (well, maybe not all hospitals). I was actually a bit appalled at first because the ones in the hospital were not for sensitive skin, which I would have expected. Luckily the newborn swaddlers didn't give us any problems.

[SKL]

I always used generic diapers, and they worked fine for my kids, so I would probably donate those, as there would likely be more bang for the buck.

[SKL]

Another point is that the more expensive diapers are more likely to contain chemicals that some kids can't tolerate.

[Caclcoca]

I used Luvs with my two youngest.  They were a little cheaper at the time, and they worked well for my guys.  None of mine could wear Huggies.  They always leaked and smelled funny.  I think it was their body chemistry.  I had friends that used Huggies.  Their babies didn't smell funny.  

[heartlikealion]

I honestly assume they are all likely to contain some chemicals or non natural ingredient unless otherwise noted. Sad to say. We tried Naty brand for that reason but they were horrible for us. And right now the Honest company is under attack for supposedly lying about an ingredient in their detergent so who knows what's in their diapers.