Cloth Nappies at Daycare
For those of us using cloth nappies at home you may also want to send cloth nappies to daycare – but what exactly should you be sending to school with them? Which types are the easiest for them?
Communication and education
This is the number one thing that you need to take to daycare, especially if your centre is new to cloth nappies. We have found that centres are very open and willing to use cloth nappies but don’t have much experience in using them, how to fit, store, etc.
We were having some very…interesting… fits despite many offers to demonstrate fits to the educators and sending in a visual ‘how to’ guide. BUT, then we shared our how to fit video and it changed everything! Every fit was perfect and we stopped having wet pants sent home with nappies. It was a gamechanger!
Make sure you offer information and advice in a few different formats. Remember that everyone learns differently so a hands on lesson might be best for one person, whereas a written guide might be better for someone else.
Types of nappies
As we were the only cloth bum in the centre, we opted for velcro, AIO nappies as they were the closest option to a disposable nappy. This worked quite well and we definitely noticed there were more likely to be issues if there were nappies with snaps.
Having said that, I have a lot of friends and customers who send AI2, pocket nappies with snaps without any issues. Like everything else, communication is key.
You may want to send a few options (if you have a few varieties in your stash) and ask daycare which ones they prefer before you commit to a new daycare stash.
You may want to send a few options (if you have a few varieties in your stash) and ask daycare which ones they prefer before you commit to a new daycare stash.
How many nappies and what accessories should I send?
We send 1 nappy for every 2 hours plus 1 extra as a back up. Generally this means we send 5-6 nappies in addition to the one she is wearing.
We use a nappy pod filled with the clean nappies. Daycare keep this in the nappy changing area and pull out nappies as required.
We send a big wet bag (e.g. Regular Monarch/Large Frank/Large CrackaDaks), as well as about 3 small wet bags (e.g. mini wet bags that come with Peekaboo/mini Monarch/small Frank wet bag).
You can check with your centre for their daycare policies, but our centre double-bags any poopy nappies or clothes. They use one of the small wet bags and then place it into the large wet bag. Wee nappies are either folded and placed directly into the large wet bag or double bagged as well.
What if my daycare requires a closed bucket? Will my nappies be ruined?
Every centre is different so your daycare may require you to use a closed bucket to store dirty nappies. While this isn’t ideal or likely to be aligned with your personal wash routine, it will not damage your nappies.
When you get home, you can either empty them into your dry pail for a morning pre-wash, or add them to your evening pre-wash. Ideally don’t leave them sitting in the closed bucket for an extended period or you may run into issues.
Do you have any resources I can provide to daycare?
We sure do! You are welcome to download any of the tips and guides on our website and share the link to our videos: