So I read this book and took it’s corresponding test a while back. This wasn’t some cheesy personality test. It figures out your top 5 strengths in life and I have to admit that it “read my mail”. Long story short, I discovered that my number one personal strength is EMPATHY. Out of many different gifts, strengths, talents…whatever you want to call them – mine was empathy?
Why couldn’t I get STRATEGY, or FUTURISTIC, or LEADERSHIP, or any of the other thirty-something strengths they describe? At least that’s what I thought at first – when I thought that empathy meant sympathy. Come to find out that empathy actually means being able to understand and even feel what other people are going through. It means that you know what it feels like to walk around in someone else’s shoes – not that you necessarily care (as in sympathy) – but that you can definitely feel where they’re coming from.
Once I learned this about myself it wasn’t a surprise – I just figured everyone is like that. You see, that’s what we do…we always struggle to understand why others don’t think the exact same way that we do. It’s difficult for us humans to judge situations from a perspective thats not our own. Leaders often assume everyone else can lead something. Strategists assume others can formulate strategies when approaching problems. With this in mind, empathy has sucked in a lot of ways. I confess that I am continually asking the questions, “Why don’t they get that?” or “Don’t they understand that…?” It’s one of my many issues.
This is why I was a bit frustrated last time I posted about the Huggies® Every Little Bottom program that I agreed to be a part of. The nasty comments (some of which I deleted) and hate e-mails were a little unnerving. I guess my feelings get hurt easier than I thought. As a pastor and a blogger, it’s somewhat of an expectation to be diplomatic and find a way to make everyone happy in many situations. This is not one of my gifts. Probably never will be.
Thankfully, many of you also saw that this program from Huggies is doing good in the world. That’s what I want to focus on. There were tons of valid points and questions surrounding the option to cloth diaper rather than spending more on wasteful disposable diapers. These points were so valid in fact that it’s definitely something we may look into personally as our 3rd baby is due in September. (We’ll see how Allison feels about it – she’s in charge of the laundry!) But I cannot look past the obvious that cloth diapering is simply not for everyone.
To the point of my post title – why do you suppose rent-to-own stores exist? To many people, these store are an absolute rip-off. You pay on average 4-10x what the actual value of an item is by the time you own it. Don’t these people who rent-to-own understand that it would be a much better deal to buy that $900 washer and drying combo outright than paying on it month-to-month at a ridiculous price inflation?
Surely they do understand this. But these stores remain because there is a significant percentage of the population who can scrape together $47 per month for 5 years even though they have no easy way of gathering $900 to get the better deal. Are these people stupid? Are they irresponsible? Try…try…try to put yourself in their shoes before answering those questions.
And so it is with diapers.
The average cost of one cloth diaper is about what you would pay for a medium to large box of disposable diapers. You cannot buy JUST ONE CLOTH DIAPER and expect to get anywhere. How many do you start with? 4…6…8? The savings over the long haul, especially with multiple children, is exciting…for those who can afford such a luxury as this bargain. It’s not exciting for those who can’t afford the multiple cloth diapers to get started with…it’s not exciting for those who can’t afford the mega-size box of disposables…it’s especially not exciting for those who can’t even afford to buy the medium-sized box of disposables.
The Huggies Every Little Bottom Program is geared towards those parents who are struggling to purchase even the smallest number of disposable diapers available. These are the people who need our help. Would it be cool if Huggies came up with ideas on how to provide alternatives to the less expensive/yet paradoxically more expensive disposables? Absolutely! Who knows what they’re working on for the future.
Until then…
How can we help with the need right now?
* We can donate diapers online.
* We can dress em’ cute for a cause.
* We can attend local diaper drives.
But the main thing I’d like you to do is just slow down, and try to imagine what it’s like to be in one of these parent’s shoes. If you do that – I trust that you’ll do something…think of something…pray for something. I’d love to hear your thoughts on all this, but I for one truly appreciate the effort that Huggies is putting forward in this initiative.
Atlanta Food Bank seems to appreciate what they’re doing too:
Disclosure: I have partnered with the Huggies® brand to help promote Huggies® Every Little Bottom program. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about my family’s own experiences from my sons/daughter’s point of view, and/or their experiences with diapers. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.
