The Best Nappy Is A Dry Nappy
Parents ponder, "How can we keep our babies' bottoms drier for longer?"
Disposable Manufacturers answer, "By using more absorbent nappies. Look, these ones last for 12 hours!"
Parents say, "Really? That seems like a long time to be wearing your own wee..."
The best way to keep a baby's bottom clean and comfortable, is to avoid wetting or soiling the nappy in the first place. Or to change it as soon as it's wet.
And that's exactly what Flaparaps are designed for.
Flaparaps are unique drop-flap nappies that have been designed for easy potty offers and instant changes, for newborns*, babies and toddlers. Watch the video above to see how they work.
The waterproof wrap holds an absorbent cotton pad in place without using poppers or velcro. It can be flipped open with one hand to expose a baby's bottom and offer the potty. If it's too late for that (oops!) a wet pad can be exchanged for a dry one without the rigmarole of a normal nappy change.
Babies will sleep, crawl, and toddle through pad changes without any fuss at all.
No screaming. No fighting. No Oscars for amateur dramatics.
Just clean dry pants on the go.
* That's right, even newborn babies can use a potty. (It's not cruel, and it has nothing to do with 'forcing children to grow up too fast'. Rather it has long evolutionary and cultural history and it's both easy and rewarding once you get the hang of it.)
Humans Evolved Without Nappies
Let's take that as read for the first 10,000 years. But even until the 1970s it was common to help small babies to use potties.
When your nan said your mum was out of nappies 'by 12 months old', she wasn't kidding.
Back then, nappies were used to contain a mess, rather than to store it, and everyone's attitude to them was quite different.
Compare that to 2016, when disposables store urine for up to 12 hours while attached to a baby's bottom, then for a week or so in the kitchen bin, then for 500 years in landfill.
Flaparaps aim to contain, not store, bodily waste.
Worldwide, Nappy Free Babies Are The Norm
Chinese, Indian, African and South East Asian babies are all raised without nappies - or with the kind of wet-then-change cloths that are a million miles from our '12 hour urine storage solution'.
South African parents are presented with advice on baby pottying as part of their standard pregnancy information.
In Sweden, the health service recently started advising parents to use a potty from 6 months old.
The Windelfrei (nappy-free) movement in Germany is gaining momentum and diaper-free (elimination communication) is becoming more popular in the States and Canada. They're at it in Australia and New Zealand too.
Born Ready Jenn says, "We also have a great pottying community right here in the UK! I've been involved myself for 8 years and counting..."
Parents in these established nappy-free communities are already buying Flaparaps, which is why we've entered for:
The Great Award
In the last 12 months, Flaparaps have sold to 22 countries on 6 continents.
The supply line is as British as we could make it. Fabric and notions are sourced in Britain wherever possible. Flaparap fabric is cut in Portsmouth and stitched in Newcastle. Everything is in place for manufacturing to scale up quickly.
Born Ready is a member of the The Made In Britain Campaign and Flaparaps proudly show the Made In Britain marque.
We've proven that there's a world wide market. Our product reviews are outstanding. With the right advice we could make a global impact.
The Impact Award
Environmental Impact
In England and Wales alone, 8 MILLION disposable nappies are thrown away EVERY DAY.
When parents learn to recognise their baby's natural rhythms or signals and introduce a potty early on, they can dramatically reduce the number of soiled nappies in their lives.
This makes cloth nappies more appealing to all those who shuddered at the thought of the washing.
Washing wet nappies is as easy as washing t-shirts. Not a big deal at all. Cloth nappies are cost effective, better for the environment and have much less of a legacy than disposables. (It's estimated that disposables will take 500 years to break down in landfill, and a single child uses between 2,500 and 5,000 of the things!)
And the situation is only going to get worse.
Disposable manufacturers spent millions of dollars trying to penetrate the Chinese and Indian markets. They know they have potential for exponential growth, and they're appealing to a tech savvy westernised population. In the past, these cultures considered nappies to be a sign of 'lazy parenting' but modern parents have different priorities and the advertising is hitting home.
Think how many disposables will go to landfill in China...
Flaparaps offer a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between traditional and modern parenting.
Parents can use the pottying techniques mastered by past generations while protecting their furnishings from mishaps. Plus their babies will look great in their branded British nappies ;)
Bonus Impact: Strengthen Family Bonds Through Responsive Parenting
Born Ready Jenn says: "Pottying is all about responsive parenting, which is great for bonding."
If you're into natural parenting, attachment parenting, gentle parenting, evolutionary parenting, eco parenting, green parenting or any other kind of parenting that views babies as proper little people - this will be right up your street.
Please VOTE NOW before you forget, and then check out bornready.uk to get started.
Crowdfunder Campaign
Raising money for social media marketing. To spread the word about baby-led pottying and help parents make informed choices around potty training.
The Born Ready Rally - Let's crowd fund an actual crowd!
(Scroll down a bit to see how we're doing...)
[At go live: Just me....]
Stand shoulder to shoulder with like-minded souls for a cartoonly show of parenting camaraderie!
An imaginary meet-up like no other, to be held in a large field, slightly off the beaten parenting track.
Whether you want to keep one foot on the main road, mingle your way to the middle, or stride purposefully towards the woods never to wear shoes again, this is the field for you. Everyone is welcome and we can always scroll over a bit if we need to make more room. (Ah, digital venues - so much more flexible than the local church hall.)
If you're worried that you won't know anyone, don't be. Everyone will be friendly, faceless and followed by their name - so strike up a conversation about Flaparaps and pretend you’ve been friends for years ;)
Come! Show your support! For me (as I venture beyond our online bubble and into the wider world - ulp!) and for each other. When you’ve set the final scene as your desktop wallpaper, you’ll never feel alone again.
Who knows, if there’s enough of us, maybe some mainstreamers will amble over for a chat and end up staying for life? (Happened to me, after all…)
I’m soooooooo looking forward to being part of a throng! Who's with me?!
(I’ll update the image as people pledge so that you can see how our field is filling up. I really hope some of you rock up or my cartoon self is going to spend the next 40 days alone on a blank screen, trying to look busy...)
[Updated day 1: Yay! Some of you came! How lovely to see you! ]
[Updated day 5: Hurrah! The field is filling up! Plenty of space for more... pledge £3 or more to join us :) ]
[Updated week 2: Had to add more field!]
[Updated week 6: Nearly there...]
[Pledge £10 or more to have a 'polaroid taken' at the #bornreadyrally. As the field gets crowded it will get harder to see your family group in the main picture. The polaroid will look better on your fridge!]
#BornReadyRally Pledges
£3: You made it to the #bornreadyrally! Have a named cartoon-you drawn into our gathering.
£5: You made it and you have character! Have a named cartoon-you drawn into our gathering, performing an action.
£10: You made it, you have character and we know it's you! Have a named cartoon-you drawn into our gathering, performing a simple action and holding a prop / wearing something distinctive so you'll know it's you. Have your 'polaroid' taken at the rally.
Final Message From Born Ready Jenn
"Go on... Join us in the cartoon! It'll be fun! And my daughters will help to dress you... "
If you read this far, we're surely worth a vote? Click that the button! - and thank you for your support!