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The Recession and Red Butts

What does the slumping economy have to do with the color of your baby’s behind?

According to a new report by the Business Insider, one begets the other.

The economic geniuses at the business publication have been making headlines with their hypothesis on the correlation between a near record number of recent diaper rash cases and the recession.

If you have a child in diapers, then you may already be familiar with the red butt/recession theory.

Apparently, there are millions of parents out there who are trying to save a few extra bucks by letting their children linger in wet diapers.

According to the Business Insider report, moms and dads in America typically spend “$1,500 per baby on diapering each year, changing a diaper 6.3 times in a day.” However, when times are tough, “diapering is one of the first costs that households cut.”

The report doesn’t state how many kids are being made to languish in their urine (and let’s hope it’s just urine), but the reader is left to assume it’s quite a large number especially since the report reveals that diaper rash cream sales are skyrocketing in the bum economy (pun intended).

Statistics show that sales of diaper rash cream have increased for the third straight year despite the fact that the number of births in America has declined over the same period.

I’m no math whiz (no pun intended), but if you crunch the numbers it would appear that it doesn’t pay to let your kid pee in his Pampers 10 times before you change him, especially if he is prone to diaper rash. After all, Desitin, Lansinoh, Butt Paste, Aveeno and other name brand diaper rash ointments don’t come cheap.

In the long run are you really padding your wallet by not changing your child’s diapers as often if you are being forced to invest in expensive diaper rash creams and a potential trip to the doctor as a result of your money-saving scheme?

Related Articles:

Are You Talking to Your Kids About the Financial Crisis?

Bad Economy + Tooth Fairy = Unhappy Kids

Poor Economy = Fewer Kids in Daycare: Who’s Watching Your Children?

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About Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. She spent the next ten years as a television anchor and reporter at various stations throughout the country (from the CBS affiliate in Honolulu to the NBC affiliate in Green Bay). She has won numerous honors including an Emmy Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow awards honoring outstanding achievements in broadcast journalism. In addition, she has received awards from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association for her reports on air travel and the Wisconsin Education Association Council for her stories on education. Michele has since left television to concentrate on being a mom and freelance writer.