Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Huggies vs. Pampers: Pampers
Oakley Fives Right Now Catalog Doctor Brown Baby Bottles Prices Gaming Evolution
Monday, November 21, 2011
The vacuum-Dry Diaper: The childhood that brand to break dry
Monday, November 14, 2011
Diaper Pricing Pitfalls - How Do I Know If I Have a Good Deal?
Diapers are confusing. They come in almost uncountable varieties, brands, styles and more. Most brands have at least two or three different types of disposable diapers - for example, Pampers has Cruisers, Baby Dry, Swaddlers and Sensitive. After you weed through the type, you buy a package of diapers, including; convenience packs, economy packs, jumbo packs, bulk packs, jumbo box, value box, economy box... What is worse is that many places who sell diapers will actually sell up to 10 to 15 different package styles of the same style of diaper. An example of this is Diapers.com sells 11 different packages (not sizes, packages) of Pampers, Size 3 diapers, of which there are 6 different options of purchasing Pampers Cruisers. Now the purpose of an online store is to give the customer variety, but grocery stores are not much better. A recent trip to Target gave the author the option of purchasing 16 different types of Pampers, of which there were six different package quantities of Pampers Cruisers.
So, how do you make sense out of all this? Well, generally, it is true that the largest package is the best deal. Back to Diapers.com and their Cruisers, the largest package ranges in price per diaper of Body.2687 for size three to Body.4299 for size 6. However, buying just a slightly smaller quantity only increases your price per diaper by Body.0170 (size 3) to Body.0048 (size 6). In essence, there is almost no difference in prices, except that, based on average diapers used in a specific stage, the price savings from size 3 to size 6 will save you 5 over the time your child is in diapers.
Why would you buy a pack for less when you can get more? The answer is simple, and that is in the risk of having unused diapers. For example, assuming again specific averages of time spent in a specific size, buying the package that has more diapers will create 308 unused diapers, while the smaller package will only leave you with 112 unused diapers. Meaning, if you buy the bigger package, you will spend 0.37 on diapers that would not go to use, versus only .30. However, this means that you are buying two extra packages of the largest size, and one full extra package of the smaller size.
So, is the answer to buy smaller packages? Smaller packages do not offer better pricing, although, some pricing is decent, especially if you are not able to spend a pop for the biggest packages. In fact, when looking at packages priced at .99, the price per diaper was only Body.3016 to Body.4860 for size 3 and size 6 respectively. This means there is only a per diaper price difference of Body.06 to Body.08. This does add up though, and from the cheapest price to this one means that overall, you would spend an extra 6 on diapers. However, when looking at two other packages, one sells for .99 and another for .99, this skews the pricing. Both offer near identical pricing, except for a key difference, the package sold for .99 in sizes 4,5,6 is actually cheaper, by roughly Body.02 to Body.03 per diaper. The .99 packages offer a better deal than the more expensive package, except for size 3, which is only Body.005 per diaper higher. However, buying either of these two packages routinely will still cost 7 more than buying the cheapest diapers.
Finally, the worst offender is the "convenience" package. Even on diapers.com, where the site is supposed to offer some of the best prices on diapers - which it does for the most part - will ultimately break your budget. At .29 per package, this only saves you roughly .00 per package over the .99 pack, but, and this is a huge but, the price per diaper increases dramatically $.10 to $.14 per diaper more than the cheapest package. This creates an overall extra cost of 6 (based on average diaper use).
The final way to compare diapers is to look at the package that is the best deal and then figure out what the savings are versus the cheaper package. For example, the best deal (in size 3) is .99 for 160 diapers. Compare this to the packages at .49, .99 and .29 that have 76, 116 and 31 diapers respectively. This means, that when you buy any of the following, you are actually spending .29, .28 and .30 less buying the biggest package over the convenience packages.
Keep in mind that the previous discussion only concerns diapers from one size, at one store, and that store is a discount store that prides itself on offering the best prices. When buying diapers at a local store, the pricing changes dramatically.
The database used shows [1] that there are substantial price differences in diapers. The average lowest cost per diaper is Body.22, and the highest average cost is $.51. Therefore, this means you would spend over ,025.88 extra on diapers. If you have twins, triplets or quads, you might as well multiply this by that number, which is a decent used car, or a down payment on a new house. To demonstrate the difference in product prices, a comparison of the price difference by brand, type, size and the lowest and highest prices. The price differences range from a mere Body.04 per diaper to Body.37 per diaper. This means that again, based on that 7,000 figure, there is a potential of paying nearly ,570 more for diapers. Even at Body.04 per diaper though, based on 7,000 diapers, you are spending 0 more on diapers. Of course, the average price difference in the database was Body.15 per diaper, or ,057.75. The final thing to note is that the pricing database does not list sale prices, but only the regular prices. In addition, the database does not record "convenience" packages, or other items that are clearly a bad deal.
Lastly, buying diapers on sale or by using coupons can further decrease the cost per diaper by Body.05 to sometimes Body.10 or more. This adds up quickly, and can decrease your costs dramatically. Just saving Body.05 per diaper average, on the lowest prices (on average from the database), could mean paying only 0 for your baby's diapers. This is a stark contrast to the average highest price, which would mean you would pay (on average) Body.39 per diaper or ,701.91.
[1]This compares only Huggies, Pampers and Luvs, and in the common sizes. In addition, the author removed" Warehouse" store packages, along with preemie and newborn sizes to illustrate an apples-to-apples comparison.
Monday, November 7, 2011
A Parents Guide to Toilet Training (Potty Training)
Toilet or potty training can be a frustrating time for parents and toddlers. My wife and I are getting to the end of toilet training with our son, but I wish we had prepared a bit earlier to make the process easier for all of us.
Most children learn to begin their bladder and later their bowels, between two to three years of age. Girls often before boys. Most parents, (well at least my wife and I!) only really start to think about toilet training when their child reaches around two.
But there's a lot of preparation that can be done before this age to make a child feel comfortable and acclimatized to the idea of going to the toilet before the experience begins.
Discuss with your child when they need to go to the toilet. "Are you doing a wee? Are you doing a poo?" Teach them through encouragement to tell you when they are emptying their bladders or moving their bowels.
Nappy time is ideal for these discussions. "You've done a poo. Soon you will go to the toilet to wee and poo like a big boy/girl." Talk about it weeks or months before putting them on the toilet.
Read stories and watch children's programs or DVD's about toilet training (such as Elmo's Potty Time) Let them watch adults or older siblings when they go to the toilet and see that it is a natural and regular occurrence. Let the flush the toilet buy a special seat and foot stool for the toilet and sink so they feel safe and are able to easily wash their hands afterwards.
Around the the age of two your child should be well prepared and able to sit on the toilet at every nappy change. At first it's usually quite easy as they enjoy the thrill of being a big boy or girl. After the excitement wears off it can be hard to encourage them to sit.
Praise them for sitting on the toilet, regardless of their success. Give them a clap, a cheer a high five, stamp or sticker everytime they sit on the toilet, no matter how briefly. Then put them back in a nappy (reuse the same nappy if dry), then follow the toileting routine of using a small amount of paper, flushing the toilet and washing hands.
Praise them in front of others about how grown up they are for sitting on the toilet. They love that! Our son loved to show visitors how he could sit on the toilet all by himself.
To encourage success while they're on the toilet, they'll need to spend some time there at first. It's a good idea to keep a little basket of books in the bathroom so you can sit and read to them while they're sitting there. That first wee in the toilet is a big deal to parent and child!
Put them on the toilet at normal "go" times, such as after waking up, after meals, before a bath and before bed.
After sufficient preparation (weeks or months depending on the child), they will start to show signs of toilet readiness. Tugging at nappies, sometimes with words, stamping of feet etc. Now is the time for training pants.
To begin with take them to the toilet every hour. Don't give them the option by asking them, just tell them, "It's toilet time," and take them by the hand. Sooner or later most two year olds begin to object when they realise they have to stop playing for a little while to go to the toilet. At this time, don't let them leave the toilet until they've sat down and "performed". They know what to do by now. Encourage them by saying things like "As soon as you've weed we can go and draw, play with your favourite toy etc."
Be positive and praise small successes. Accidents happen. Don't scold them. Talk to them and say "Whoops, you peed on the floor. We pee in the toilet don't we? Next time we'll make it to the toilet." You can also encourage them to tell you when they need to go. After accidents complete the usual toilet routine - sit on the toilet, paper, flush and wash hands. If they don't go through the routine they'll soon see the advantages of peeing in their pants.
Once your child is in pants during the day, don't go back to nappies except for sleep periods. It is too confusing to children to work out when they're in a nappy and when they're in pants. After an accident, it's back into pants. Sorry!
Of course there are times when pants aren't convenient. Huggies "pull ups" are great for going out when toilet training. Don't use them like a nappy. But they offer peace of mind in case children don't make it to the toilet in time.
To limit accidents while out:
take your child to the toilet before every outing take your child to the toilet between shops take a potty with you in the car for emergencies take spare clothes with you.
The hourly routine must still be maintained while you're out.
Most children will wet the bed at night long after they're dry during the day. Keep them in nappies at night and take them to the toilet as soon as they wake up.
Consistency between home and day care or other carers is very important. Remember to be positive and delight in your child's every success. Best of luck and I hope this guide will help you through this sometimes challenging process!
This article was compiled with the help of our local childcare centre - The Village Early Learning Centre.
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