A suggestion re cloth nappy posts v. all other natural parenting posts

[cath]

I first ventured into this section to look for advice on which sling to buy. I already did most of the NP stuff( BFing, cosleeping, attachment parenting) except cloth nappies but I wasnt put off at all by all the cloth bum talk, in fact it was seeing all your pretty fluff that helped me make the decision to convert to cloth. I didnt & still dont see a problem with it all being in one forum & it certainly didnt put me off from coming in here when Charlotte didnt have a fluffy bum.

 

[Kbee]

hmmmm........TBH I dont really mind,,but I can understand why it may be off putting. I do part time cloth but I cant afford loads of pretty nappies all the time so do it slowly so 'pretty fluff' pics whilst they dont annoy me, I dont look at (partly cos I would want the nappy lol).....but I will agree that np has been 'cloth heavy' recently.

 

[Rachel_C]

does it really matter?!

As long as we all have somewhere to post with our thoughts and questions! Nothing is taking over anything, if you have a question you ask!

If someone wants to post a pic of their new nappy then so be it!

All parts of the forum repeats, every topic in 1st, 2nd, 3rd tri, GS, BF, FF etc has all been said or asked before.

Its just what happens with such a large forum and new members joining/becoming preggers/having babies ya know?

I don't think there should be a separate section for cloth nappies, but I think people should just try to post similar stuff in one thread rather than everybody posting their own thread each time they do something. I think to somebody interested in natural parenting as a whole, it could be quite off-putting to see so few threads about other topics. Also, at risk of being controversial, it makes it look like it's a 'club' of people who can all afford lovely pretty fluff and that might be off-putting to somebody who couldn't or didn't want to spend much money or who wanted to stick to plain and simple nappies. It's not something where you need rules about it but I don't think it's a lot to ask members to use a little common sense when deciding if something warrants a new thread. It's a matter of being tidy as much as anything I suppose

When you say 'nobody is taking over anything', well it does kind of look like cloth nappies have taken over a bit. I certainly don't mind that as the cloth is one of the things that attracted me to this section and it's one of the things I would discuss most BUT if everybody is just discussing how pretty their cloth nappies are, I don't actually see the point in having a natural parenting section as cloth for the sake of being pretty isn't really 'natural' in my opinion. Yes, there are the other reasons people would use cloth but that doesn't really get talked about much. If all the topics are about prettiness or effectiveness (again not really a 'natural' issue) you may as well have the cloth talk in normal Baby Club or somewhere.

 

[princessellie]

'club' of people who can all afford lovely pretty fluff

i am soooo not part of that club

 

[Lu28]

'club' of people who can all afford lovely pretty fluff

i am soooo not part of that club

Yeah but you make the pretty fluff!!! Aisling is snoozing in her Mammy Made at the moment

 

[princessellie]

awww

x

 

[polo_princess]

Interesting thread ... im not a regular user of this section but there are a handful of topics in here that catch my eye and that i have an interest in.

I dont bother contributing most of the time though as i cba to plough through a million and one nappy threads.

Id like to see other topics discussed more frequently tbh

 

[AnnaBanana9]

^^^ WSS

I don't often post in here as I don't use cloth and find it difficult to plough through all the threads about lovely fluff (and yes, they sure are cute!) I would love to see more threads about various other aspects, but I don't post them myself as I wonder if they're maybe in there somewhere among the cloth threads and then someone might think I'm a silly for asking something again

 

[Tiff]

^^^ WSS

I don't often post in here as I don't use cloth and find it difficult to plough through all the threads about lovely fluff (and yes, they sure are cute!) I would love to see more threads about various other aspects, but I don't post them myself as I wonder if they're maybe in there somewhere among the cloth threads and then someone might think I'm a silly for asking something again

I don't think you'd be considered silly at all.

The amount of diaper threads don't bother me, personally. I like seeing everyone's stuff. Although I do think that if people want to see more topics other than everyone's new fluff, they should post them! Might get more people posting about other stuff if they see other people do it?

 

[Hayley90]

Hmm, I've just read through all of this, and I feel a little...

I don't have a baby yet, so i cant really join in with anything other than "fluffy post" and "clothbum" threads... The only questions I have are related to what I can do now, which just happens to be buying nappies.

When bubs is here, THEN I will be able to participate in the other threads... so i dont think its a case of needing to separate them, as i think that would alienate people who are at a different stage of parenting iykwim?

There are a few 1st time mums & mums who are expecting in here at the moment, so i doubt many of us could really give much advice relating to, for example, weaning when we haven't done it yet.

I don't think i'd like it to be separated, as there are things i notice in amongst the nappy threads that interest me - BLW meant nothing to me until i read about it in here. And i wouldn't have been here if it weren't for my nappy questions


...i dont even think that made sense ...

 

[henny]

Hayley90- that made sense. I wouldn't have heard about baby wearing or having info on co-sleeping. If people want to ask about other things then cloth nappy then they should just post a thread, i know i have as i asked about co-sleeping and baby wearing.

 

[DueMarch2nd]

well it appears to be a case for both sides and since this thread has arised i have noticed more topics about other "NP" things. I think the thread has actually been a success judging by the main board tbh x

 

[Hayley90]

DM2 ^^ Me too!

 

[bky]

I know I feel a bit left out as I don't have the same brands of nappies everyone else does. Oh well though. I'd hope the fundamentals apply so I try not to bother too much about that.
I've also posted what I thought were NP topics (not related to nappies) and seen the thread go right down the board with no comments. That's probably just me though. A lot of topics I start do that. I'm pretty hesitant to start new topics in here because although I think they are NP related I don't see much discussion on them (and also the previous experience), so seems like no point in trying to get people's opinion if no one is into it...?

 

[DueMarch2nd]

keep trying bky!

 

[Tiff]

I know I feel a bit left out as I don't have the same brands of nappies everyone else does. Oh well though. I'd hope the fundamentals apply so I try not to bother too much about that.
I've also posted what I thought were NP topics (not related to nappies) and seen the thread go right down the board with no comments. That's probably just me though. A lot of topics I start do that. I'm pretty hesitant to start new topics in here because although I think they are NP related I don't see much discussion on them (and also the previous experience), so seems like no point in trying to get people's opinion if no one is into it...?

It happens to me as well, so definitely not just you. Keep trying! Or if you are ever shy about posting a topic, feel free to PM me or any of the other ladies who frequent this board. I'm sure all of them would love to help.

 

[Dream.A.Dream]

I kinda disagree with the implication that the new cloth users aren't NP. I'm new to cloth and that's the only thing I ask questions about in here. I've also co slept since he was born, used a baby carrier and never left him to cry. But I don't have questions about those things, I just do them Doesn't make me any less of a NP just because I don't speak about it!

 

[cath]

Same here Katy. The other stuff kind of came instinctually so I didnt need to ask questions and any BFing questions I had were posted in the BFing section. I did browse the carrier sticky when I was buying my mei tai but didnt post anything as I then found one I loved. The cloth nappies though took a few questions before I had the confidence to buy them as it was so bewildering with all the different types & working out which ones would suit us best. If I know the answer, I will always have a go at answering someone's thread whether it is about cloth nappies or any other aspect of NP

 

[twiggy56]

I dont think its fair to say 'You'd like the see more 'other' topics in the NP section' to be quite frank....

if thats what you want, why should it be up to other people to start threads just to keep the browsers happy? If you want to discuss the topic- you start a thread?! Why wait for other people to bring up a topic before you discuss it?! Thats how this appears from some of the comments on here. And if the topic doesnt get many replies, then im sorry but you cant make people comment on things that obviously dont interest them just so the board looks like it has a bit of diversity? There are an abundance of nappy threads because thats what the posters are interested in...you cant change that?

Im all for other topics btw, I practice many aspects of NP not just cloth....if someone starts a thread about an aspect of NP im interested in or have something to say i'l jump in...but you cant really demand other topics if there is no interest in them?

I just dont get this 'I want diversity' thing at all IMO that means active participation, i.e If you want to discuss- start a thread!

 

[colsy]

I dont think its fair to say 'You'd like the see more 'other' topics in the NP section' to be quite frank....

if thats what you want, why should it be up to other people to start threads just to keep the browsers happy? If you want to discuss the topic- you start a thread?! Why wait for other people to bring up a topic before you discuss it?!

Message boards such as Baby and Bump work in two ways. There are people who continually post questions and answers. And there are other people who just browse through what's already there, in the hope that they may come across something that interests them. Yes, the former type of person can of course post all sorts of Qs re natural parenting. But what about the type of person who simply wanders through the first pages of each section, hoping to find something of interest?

As I have said a number of times now, I use cloth nappies and have done since my son was less than a week old. But I am not in the slightest bit interested in cloth nappies - to me, they're no more exciting than disposable nappies. I use them because they have less of an impact on the environment. What I AM interested in is the very many other aspects of natural parenting and I'd love to chat with people who share similar views on natural parenting, enviro issues, etc. However, in the natural parenting forum in its current state, it is extremely hard to find those people who do share my views, because they're hidden among the oodles of cloth nappy posts. Fine, go ahead, talk about cloth nappies all day everyday, I don't mind at all, that's all your choice. But why not do that in one forum and then have another forum devoted to the non-nappy bit of natural parenting? Who knows - perhaps in a few months somebody else may ask to split off some other parts of the forum, say re babywearing or co-sleeping?

The point is not to offend anyone, or to belittle people for showing a big interest in nappies. Rather, the point of any forum, surely, is to make as much stuff visible and useable to as many different people as possible. And, to be honest, right now I don't think the natural parenting forum fulfils that role.