When choosing a floor for a kid's room, you'll want to consider both safety and durability. The floor shouldn't hurt the children, and they shouldn't be able to hurt it! A material with some cushioning is ideal, to soften falls or bumped knees. Also, the floor should be able to stand up against dropped toys, play cars being driven on it, sodas being spilled on it, etc.  Ideally, it'll be easy to clean too.

Popular Flooring Choices

• Resilient floorings, such as vinyl, linoleum, and rubber have some give and are particularly easy to clean.
• Cork floors are environmentally friendly, comfortable, and easy to maintain.
• Laminate is reasonably soft and, again, easy to maintain.

Less Suitable Choices

• Though carpeting is frequently used in bedrooms, due to its soft and padded nature, it also stains easily. On top of that, it harbors dust mites and pet dander, which could intensify allergy problems.
• Wood floors, which are harder and less giving than laminate, can produce splinters.  Also, wood doesn't offer any padding for falls.  It dents and scratches easily, so if you do have wood in a kid's room, consider placing throw rugs on top of it.

Poor Floor Choices for Children's Rooms

• Hard floors (i.e. stone, ceramic) aren't any fun to play on and can even be dangerous for children if they fall.
• Natural floors are prickly and hard to clean.  Like carpets, they can harbor dust mites and pet dander.