Diapers have been an important part of development. Moreover, they deem great help when there are other stuff to deal with. To give you a brief background about diapers, the diapers you know today was not the best diapers 15 years back. Cloth is more like the normal diaper in that time and it’s what most parents look for. Since disposable diapers were more convenient and easier to deal with, it became the norm; the classic way of letting cloth handle it just became ancient.
It was made to absorb poop and pees of babies without them being required to visit the toilet every now and then. Little did we know that diapers have effects on a child’s development too – yes, that’s right. Other than having a complete effect to a baby’s hygiene, wearing diapers can be a mobility leverage as well.
A 2012 study from the U.S. National Institute of Health says that saggy diapers can alter a child’s ability to walk properly.
Filipino moms and parents were made to answer a survey whether or not it matters if a child’s diaper is saggy. Rappler, together with Pampers, made a study/survey among 1, 200 readers to find out more about it and for them to see if parents ever thought of this.
Basing it on the study done in 2012, saggy diapers have drastic effects on a child’s motor development. Meaning, they won’t be able to walk properly immediately. According to the survey done by Rappler and Pampers, the amount of parents unaware of this is shocking. 63.55% are the percentage of people who are aware or has an idea that saggy diapers affect children. Although this is the number, the reason is because “it makes them uncomfortable.” This part should be looked into more because it can affect their ability to walk when they grow older.
Read: This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Start Walking More
In the surveys, parents tend to choose diapers that offer and promote comfortability rather than choosing diapers which promote motor and developmental skills.
What most of them don’t know is that in early stages of being babies, developing motor and movement is one of the more important things. This is why we’re talking about saggy diapers in the first place.
Some parts of Northern China where water is insufficient, guardians and caregivers lay infants on their backs inside bags filled with fine sand most of the time; this serves as their diapers. So, the sandbags effectively absorb pee and poop and keep infants clean. However, this drastically restrict infants’ motions that can lead to substantial delays in sitting and walking compared to children from comparable areas who were not sandbagged.
Another question in the survey was: Have saggy diapers been an issue to your child?
63.13% answered yes to that question; how about the remaining 36.87%? This is one of the more common problems of Filipino parents. Some, if not most, tend to keep full and used diapers for a longer period of time, making the diapers sag because of being fully occupied. Parents need to understand that their babies can feel things, too. Moreover, they can feel obstacles and difficulties as well – why do they cry then?
It’s important for us, even those who aren’t parents yet to understand that this alone can alter the possibilities of children being able to move properly. And it cannot just make babies uncomfortable, it can disallow babies to develop appropriate and proper motor skills as well such as standing up, sitting down, and walking.
As per the Go N***d study, they were able to test three (3) types of babies’ motor skills:
- Babies are n***d;
- Old-fashioned thick diaper
- Wearing thin diapers; and
- Wearing normal diapers
They tested infants walking, whether or not they’re more experienced in walking than the other infants. The researchers made sure that everything is on the same page so they grouped together 13-month-olds and 19-month-olds. In the comparison, the babies who were n***d or who did not have anything between their legs were the faster learners. While those who have diapers even if they were thin tended to fall and break while they practiced walking.
Parents, what should you do?
In all honesty, these waste catchers were made for us to be out-of-the-hassle of cleaning sheets and floors every hour. Do not make the mistake of not having your babies in them, though. Keep in mind though that when they sag, dispose them right away. If you’re using thin fine cloth, change them to a new one right away. It might not be because of their hygiene and comfortability, it might be because of their ability to develop motor skills instead.
Diapers help us in most ways but don’t let that fact ruin or prolong your child’s ability to learn walking. One good tip is to check on your kid every two (2) to three (3) hours. If the diaper has been put to the test, dispose and change right away even if the waste is minimal.
