For those who have never had to buy diapers, it might be easy to wonder what all the stink is about regarding their cost. Families juggle all kinds of everyday financial obligations, after all — food, clothing, fuel, housing. Why is the issue of diapers, in particular, of such saturating importance?

For one, it's more expensive than many people think (or remember). In the current inflationary landscape, it can cost $100 a month per child. That's not nothing for what is by definition usually a young family. That's especially true for lower-income parents struggling with the higher cost of everything lately.

It's not like there's some choice in the matter for those parents; diapers aren't a mere convenience, they're a health care necessity. And it's not like there's any economy of scale, diaper-wise, for those who have multiple kids; add a second crawler, and you double the cost of an already major household budget item.

The fewer resources a family has, the higher the diaper issue looms. But there is something readers can do to help. And there's something political leaders should do to help.

Regarding the former, there is the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank, which has been providing free diapers to area families in need for almost a decade now.

Founded in 2014, the organization collects donations of money, volunteers and diapers — as well as feminine hygiene products — and distributes them free of charge, working with local libraries and scores or other organizations throughout the St. Louis-Metro East region. (Donation information is at the bottom of this editorial.)

As the Post-Dispatch's Michele Munz reports, the diaper bank has seen that need spike since the pandemic, which set many St. Louis families back on their heels financially. It's the same story across the country, according to research by the National Diaper Bank Network, which found that nearly half of American families with young kids have trouble affording diapers, up from about one-third in 2010.

A National Diaper Bank survey this summer put those numbers in dauntingly human terms. It found that 46% of respondents had to cut back on other household expenses to afford diapers, 25% missed work or school because a lack of diapers prevented them from taking their kids to day care — and 28% skipped meals to make up the difference.

You'd think government could help a little by, say, eliminating the state sales tax on diapers, which would lower the shelf price. In fact, repeated efforts to do just that in recent years have failed in the Missouri Legislature.

This year, legislative Democrats who were pushing to eliminate the tax appeared headed for success, after agreeing to a deal with the Republican majority: Republicans would help pass the diaper tax cut, if Democrats agreed not to filibuster Republican legislation seeking to remove the state sales tax from (what else?) firearms ammunition.

Talk about priorities.

Ultimately, both measures passed the Senate but didn't get out of the House. Democrats should try again next session — preferably this time without asking taxpayers across Missouri to subsidize the GOP's gun fetish. If Republicans refuse, let them explain to the public why they're opposed to keeping babies' bottoms dry.

Readers can donate money, time or diapers (or feminine hygiene products) to the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank at https://stldiaperbank.org/.

REPRINTED FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Photo credit: Tim Bish at Unsplash