With two toddlers, our family has invested several thousand dollars in diapers, and we’re not finished yet. A recent discussion with our pediatrician revealed some interesting insights about the diaper industry.
The diaper industry has become more sophisticated over the years. From a performance standpoint, diapers hold more liquid than ever before, making dirty diapers more comfortable and less likely to leak. From a branding and packaging standpoint, the industry has created line extensions for every weight, age, sex, stage, activity and brand affinity. Whether your child is a newborn, over 27 pounds, a girl, a swimmer, beginning to potty train, or in love with Mickey Mouse, there’s a diaper for you.
The result? Both the expected lifetime of diaper consumers and the amount of money they spend on premium diaper products is increasing. Fueling this trend is a growing class of busy two-income families that have less time for potty-training, less patience for leaky diapers and more neglectful-parent guilt. Kids are graduating to traditional underwear (which demands potty training) at a later age.
The diaper manufacturers’ quest for profits drives their marketing and product innovation. I’m fine with that. But it’s important for parents to recognize that most of the diaper mania is little more than marketing.
From a practical standpoint, generic white diapers will do just as well as more fancy ones. And any lack of performance with less-than-premium diapers will mainly contribute to a more intense desire among your children to get potty-trained faster.
But diaper mania doesn’t end when children get potty-trained. When you reach your senior years, this same industry will be ready and waiting with a sophisticated line-up of adult diapers!
This is the diaper conspiracy. Â And it was one of the hot topics on the latest episode of the Cast Of Dads.
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