A floor in a house with small children has a longer job description than most. It gets crawled on, fallen on, spilled on and drawn on. It carries toy trucks, high chairs and baby gates, and it has to be quiet enough that footsteps in the hall do not end a nap.
No single floor does all of that best, which is why the right answer is usually different from one room to the next. Here is how the main options compare, and where each one earns its place.
What a floor has to do in a house with small children
- Cushion: babies learn to crawl, pull up and walk on the floor, and toddlers fall over constantly. A softer floor is kinder to knees and heads
- Clean up: milk, juice, food thrown from a high chair and the occasional accident all end up on the floor
- Hold up: toy cars, ride-on toys, dragged step stools and dropped cups put more wear on a floor than adults do
- Stay quiet: in a two-story house, footsteps upstairs carry to the rooms below
- Grip: small children run in socks
Carpet wins on cushion and quiet. Luxury vinyl plank wins on clean-up. Most family homes end up with both, in different rooms.
Carpet: the nursery, bedrooms and playroom
Carpet is the softest floor you can put under a baby who is learning to crawl, and the best at absorbing sound. In bedrooms and nurseries, and especially upstairs, those two things matter more than anything else.
The questions are which carpet and what goes under it.
- Fiber: triexta and solution-dyed fibers resist stains well, and solution-dyed carpet can be cleaned firmly without losing its color. Nylon is the most resilient fiber for rooms that see a lot of play
- Construction: cut pile rather than loop. Small fingers and toys can catch a loop and pull it
- Cushion: the cushion decides how the carpet feels and how long it lasts. A moisture-resistant cushion also stops spills and accidents that get through the carpet from soaking into the pad and subfloor
How to choose carpet goes through fibers and pile styles in detail, and our carpet padding guide covers the cushion. On qualifying residential carpet purchases with professional installation, we upgrade you to a selected premium memory foam cushion at no charge. Product and minimum-purchase requirements apply and we confirm them at your consultation.
Luxury vinyl plank: the kitchen, dining room and everyday living space
Wherever food and drink are involved, luxury vinyl plank is the practical answer. It is waterproof, so a spilled cup of milk or an accident during potty training is a wipe-up rather than a problem, and it needs nothing more than sweeping and a damp mop with the right cleaner. How to clean luxury vinyl plank covers the routine.
Two specifications matter in a family house:
- Wear layer: the clear top layer takes the toy trucks, chair legs and grit. A thicker wear layer is the upgrade that most affects how the floor looks in ten years
- Attached underlayment: a plank with a quality attached pad is quieter underfoot and a little softer than one without
Vinyl is softer than laminate, which is good for a toddler who sits down hard and less good under a heavy dropped toy, which can leave a dent. How to choose luxury vinyl plank explains wear layers and core types.
A hard floor is not a soft landing, so in the rooms where children play most, a good area rug over vinyl plank gives you both: cushion where they sit, and a waterproof floor everywhere else. Choose rugs with a backing that is safe for vinyl floors, because some rubber and latex backings stain vinyl permanently.
Laminate: dry rooms that see a lot of play
Laminate has a harder surface than vinyl, so it resists the scratches from toy cars, ride-on toys and dragged stools very well. In a family room, hallway or home office that stays dry, a good laminate is a strong, good-value choice. An AC4 rating suits the busiest parts of the house.
Its weakness is water. A fiberboard core swells if liquid sits on a seam, and a spill that goes unnoticed under a sofa until the next day is exactly how that happens in a house with toddlers. Keep laminate out of the kitchen, the dining room and anywhere a sippy cup is likely to leak. How to choose laminate flooring explains ratings and thickness.
Hardwood: beautiful, and it will collect a history
Hardwood is a lovely floor to raise a family on, provided you expect it to show the family. Toy cars scratch it, dropped toys dent it, and water left standing marks it.
If you want hardwood with small children, choose a harder species such as oak or hickory, a matte or wire-brushed finish that hides scratches rather than advertising them, and a mid-tone color. Keep it out of the kitchen and dining room until the spill years are over, and use rugs where the children play. Choosing a hardwood species compares hardness, and how to care for hardwood floors covers the everyday care.
Stairs
Stairs are where small children fall most, and the floor on them matters more than anywhere else in the house. A dense, low-profile carpet is softer to land on and less slippery in socks than a hard surface. Hard-surface stairs should have proper stair nosings, and many families add a runner while the children are small.
Whatever the finish, the stair has to be fitted tightly. A loose carpet or a nosing that rocks is a trip hazard for everyone. Our stair flooring guide covers the options.
Fresh flooring and indoor air
New flooring can have a smell for the first few days. Opening windows and running fans helps it clear, and it is reasonable to ask about certifications for low emissions: CRI Green Label Plus is the carpet and cushion program, and FloorScore covers hard-surface flooring. If you are planning a nursery, schedule the flooring early rather than the week before the due date.
Room by room
- Nursery and children's bedrooms: carpet with a moisture-resistant cushion
- Playroom: carpet in a durable cut pile, or vinyl plank with a large rug
- Kitchen and dining room: luxury vinyl plank
- Family room: vinyl plank or carpet, depending on whether food lives there
- Hallways: vinyl plank or AC4 laminate
- Stairs: a dense carpet, or hard-surface treads with good nosings
What it costs
Professionally installed at 500 square feet, carpet through Highmark runs $1,750 to $5,000 depending on quality level, luxury vinyl plank $2,500 to $7,500, laminate $3,000 to $5,000, and hardwood $3,750 to $15,000. Our pricing page has the full ranges. We offer 0% financing through Synchrony Home on approved credit, which many families use to do the whole house at once rather than one room a year.
See it on your own floor
The best test of a floor for children is a sample on your own floor, in the room it is going in, with the children who will use it. That is what our shop-at-home appointment is for. For carpet or luxury vinyl plank in Licking County or the Columbus area, book a free in-home estimate. If you also have a dog, our pet flooring guide covers the overlap.
