Child-Friendly Tiles: Safe Flooring to Help Your Kid Take Baby Steps

Maintaining a house with children is never easy. There are food and drink spills to clean, toys and other accessories to arrange and the challenge of keeping the house spic and span so that it is free of germs and allergens.

For parents and parents-to-be, making the flooring child-friendly is essential as children often play on the floors and crawl on their hands and knees.

The best flooring for kids is one that can be cleaned and maintained easily and creates a safe space and tiles can do the job effectively.

Factors to keep in mind

Here are a few factors to remember before choosing a tile to create kid-friendly flooring:

1. Maintenance: The best flooring for families is the one which can be maintained without any hassle. You just need a wet mop or cloth to make tiles sparkling clean without much effort. Stains and dirt come off easily from tiles as compared to other materials like cement.
2. Comfort: Child-safe flooring should be ensured in not just kids’ rooms but also in living and family rooms as kids often end up spending a large amount of time with others. You can make children’s play areas comfortable by throwing in a smooth carpet or rug and ensuring that all play things are within the reach of the child. A lower sitting arrangement can help keep the kids close to the adults and provide them a constant sense of assurance.
3. Scratch-resistance: Child-friendly flooring materials are usually chosen keeping this aspect in mind. That’s because you can’t always stop a child from rubbing toys against the floors or simply running a toy car again and again in the same area, activities that may end up scratching the surface. Scratch-resistant tiles from Orientbell Tiles can help you avoid the hassle of keeping a constant eye on your kids and the floor.
4. Water-resistance: Water absorption can make any space unsafe as it can lead to growth of bacteria and other germs. Moreover, it can also lead to dampness. All of this can be a health hazard to babies who have a fragile body constitution. Kid-friendly flooring should be water-resistant to ensure any space is safe.
5. Durability: The flooring of a house that has growing children is bound to see some rough usage, so one should settle for the most durable flooring for kids’ spaces. Ensure that the tiles you choose stand the test of time.

Child-friendly flooring options

1. Cork flooring: This one is among the best flooring options for toddlers and families with allergies. It is a natural material, which does not let bacteria or dust collect on it and prevents the growth of mold and other allergens, though it is as soft as a carpet. It can be used as safe flooring for babies in children’s rooms and play areas, which have less furniture and more open spaces. It’s a hygienic and eco-friendly option.
2. Porcelain and Vitrified Tile Flooring: Porcelain and vitrified tiles are scratch-resistant and non-porous in nature, which makes them suitable for flooring in children’s and family rooms as they prevent the growth of fungi, bacteria and other germs. They are easy to clean and do not get discoloured.
3. Marble tile flooring: This flooring is suitable for all areas of the house, including spaces for children. Though natural marble requires high maintenance and is porous, marble tiles do not suffer any of these disadvantages. They are safe for children as they do not catch allergens, are scratch-resistant and easy to clean.
4. Wood flooring: Wood is a natural and non-toxic material and is, therefore, considered a kid-friendly flooring option. While natural wood is a great option, there can be some challenges like maintenance and absence of a smooth surface. Wooden tiles are a perfect fit if you want a non-toxic option with the same grace and beauty. They are also non-porous and are very easy to maintain and clean. Wooden tiles do not get scratched easily so these can be used as floor tiles for children’s rooms easily.
5. Laminate and vinyl flooring: They are a great option for homes with young children as it’s very easy to keep them clean. They are water-resistant and do not get scratched easily. Since they are non-porous, they hinder the growth of bacteria.
   Laminates are much cheaper than wooden options and are not as hard so falls and accidents on these will hurt less. However, these are quite slippery, especially when they are wet. Both vinyl and laminate flooring may use a harmful ingredient at the time of manufacturing, so do your research and only then settle for them.

Two primary things to keep in mind when renovating a house to make it child-friendly is easy maintenance and prevention of germs and bacteria. If you take care of these two aspects, you are sorted.

Author Bio:

Isha Tandon works as a Digital Content Strategist for Orientbell Limited, a leading tile manufacturer in India. Isha’s knack for understanding audiences helps her create value-driven content for her readers that not only educates and informs but is engaging and interesting to read as well. She creates lifestyle pieces that focus on interior design products, trends, and processes. She loves to travel to historic places with rich architecture.