# What kind of flooring for toddler nursery?



## bstandlee (May 14, 2007)

I am on a team that is redesigning/reorganizing our church nursery. We're stuck on flooring options. It seems like there should be a little cushion (for inevitable falls and for adult workers playing on the floor with kids) but it also needs to be very cleanable (so not carpet).

What kinds of flooring do infant centers or daycare centers use? Or what kind of flooring would you like to see in a care setting where you would leave your child to play?

Note: there will be 2 separate rooms, one for kids who are walking well-36 months, so not as many falls but lots of playing on the floor; and one room for the infants and crawlers. We will also have a socks/booties only policy (no shoes) Thanks!


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## nmoss (Jan 26, 2007)

Cork would be a great option....great for falls but has the cleanable-ness of wood floors. Pretty color too and a renewable resource!


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## Kellie_MO4 (Jan 14, 2006)

Quote:

Cork would be a great option....great for falls but has the cleanable-ness of wood floors. Pretty color too and a renewable resource!








the carpting in my church nursery is so nasty, I wish theyd replace it... ick!


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## pammysue (Jan 24, 2004)

Toddler rooms in child care centers usually have both carpet and tile. The children eat and do art on the tile and play with floor toys and have circle on the carpet. You could tile the whole floor and buy some area rugs. They are easily replaceable and could be taken to the dry cleaner to be cleaned.

If you want a more school like rug check out Discount School Supply for school rugs, but really you can find rugs that would work at Target or Home Depot (though you may have to replace them more often as they are not really designed for the heavy duty use of toddlers).

We are redoing the nursery at our church and we are doing tile w/rugs for the flooring.


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## cmom80 (Oct 18, 2006)

Linoleum (real linoleum, not vinyl) is environmentally friendly, all-natural, allergen-proof, easy to clean, colorful, cheap and lasts forever!! (Not a salesperson... just researching options for my fantasy playroom, LOL)


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

cork!!!!! we have it in our kitchen I looooove it!

marmoleum would be a good option too, it is a a linseed based flooring (ie real linoleum)

but if you can afford it CORK!


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## bstandlee (May 14, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nmoss* 
Cork would be a great option....great for falls but has the cleanable-ness of wood floors. Pretty color too and a renewable resource!

Ooh, cork! I never would have thought of that. I'll look into it, but our budget is really tight right now.


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## bstandlee (May 14, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cmom80* 
Linoleum (real linoleum, not vinyl) is environmentally friendly, all-natural, allergen-proof, easy to clean, colorful, cheap and lasts forever!! (Not a salesperson... just researching options for my fantasy playroom, LOL)

There's linoleum under the colored foam squares right now. My initial idea was to take up all the foam squares (you know, that lock together like puzzle pieces? they're 8 years old and are dirty because the rough surface prevents a thorough cleaning) and leave the linoleum underneath and add an area rug or two. But the other 2 women thought the floor should have padding for falls and for adults sitting on the floor. I can definitely see that for the infant/crawler room, but I'm still not convinced linoleum and an area rug wouldn't be just fine in the toddler room.

And if daycares don't have special cushioned flooring (other than carpet) I don't think we would need to. Hmmmm, any other ideas?


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## bdoody11 (Aug 16, 2005)

Could you put padding under the area rugs? You would just want to make there are no edges for kids to trip on.

I will say you are right on with the daycare carpets. There is no padding and the toddlers/infants do just fine (and I know from experience, DD has been in daycare since 3 months). Like others mentioned, the room is a combo of industrial carpet and tile.


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## tbone_kneegrabber (Oct 16, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *bstandlee* 
There's linoleum under the colored foam squares right now. My initial idea was to take up all the foam squares (you know, that lock together like puzzle pieces? they're 8 years old and are dirty because the rough surface prevents a thorough cleaning) and leave the linoleum underneath and add an area rug or two. But the other 2 women thought the floor should have padding for falls and for adults sitting on the floor. I can definitely see that for the infant/crawler room, but I'm still not convinced linoleum and an area rug wouldn't be just fine in the toddler room.

And if daycares don't have special cushioned flooring (other than carpet) I don't think we would need to. Hmmmm, any other ideas?


you could also just get new foam pieces. I think you can get rather smooth ones and ones that are big (like one piece is the size of 4 letter ones) at like lowes and home depot.


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## bstandlee (May 14, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *tbone_kneegrabber* 
you could also just get new foam pieces. I think you can get rather smooth ones and ones that are big (like one piece is the size of 4 letter ones) at like lowes and home depot.

The problem with the foam pieces is that they seem to stretch out over time and now don't lay flat. So the floor is wavy with air pockets underneath and the kids trip over the wavy parts. But maybe that would be the best option for now. At least it would be flat and clean for a while. Maybe by the time it gets uncleanable and wavy again we could have enough money saved up for a better flooring.


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