Hardwood Floor Vs Carpet In A Home

We all grew up in India hitting our head or hand on cement floors. Hardwood just makes more noise. I used to tie cap padded with wool around my toddlers head for a while but then they grewup.

 

I am surprised you are talking about pretty much every thing that we have been discussing at home. Are you stalking

Since we are also in the process of buying a home, this was one of the hot topics. It seems our extremely active toddler has taken a vow to get hurt/bumped at least twice a day. And I am not exaggerating at all. It is the carpet that saved him from getting hurt badly pretty much each time. But see.. hardwood floors are not that bad compared to the marble/granite flooring back in India. And I am sure there are so many extremely toddlers in India as well. I don't think this is a big deal. As long as the toddler does not fall from a very high level or not on a sharp/hard object, the chances of getting hurt to the extent we have to be worried about is less.

On a side note, I think you might want to reconsider keeping hardwood floor on all levels as your no 1 factor. Because it is very rare (at least in the place we live) to find such a house. Most houses have hard wood on living room/kitchen and carpet in all bedrooms. And if you are really set on hardwood floor, you could later change the bedrooms to hardwood after moving in. It seems it is not extremely expensive and it is common that homeowners change the flooring. I heard that it could roughly be 10k per 1000 sq ft.

 

Injuries can happen on anything hardwood or carpet. My niece got hairline fracture when she had a fall from sofa on to the carpet. This happened twice in period of 3 months.
Here in New England, I prefer carpet at least in bedrooms as in winters it really gets very cold. But on main floor would like to have hardwood floor. You can always have a nice plush area rug under your sofa.

 

I like both hardwood and carpet, both have their uses. Hardwood is easier to clean but I passed on homes that had all hardwood downstairs because I liked being able to just sit on the floor and play with my baby and then toddler. You can have rugs but they won't be as big to offer coverage all over. So it wasn't for safety really but more for comfort that I prefer carpet. Though for safety reasons, carpet is definitely better. In my next home, I will have all hardwood downstairs since my baby is bigger now.

 

@sanjuruby3
I would prefer hardwood over carpet. We have hardwood in first floor (hall and kitchen) and carpet in bedrooms.
Carpet is tough to clean and tends to trap dust and allergy. My DS is super active and running around and there is spillage or food all over when ever he eats or drinks. Hardwood is easy to clean and we used to have area rug and i removed it as it was getting tough to clean with the mess he creates. In bedroom its strict no food so cleaning is reduced there.

Regarding falling down and getting hurt, i did not see any difference in hardwood or carpet. Hardwood here is not that tough and in own houses they won't squeak.

 

It is commonly seen that hardwood is easy to clean and to maintain hygiene. But, if you are worried about the frequent fall off your baby from the bed or sofa then, it is adviseable to go for super fluffy carpets near around bed and sofa. To avoid the slipping while walking on carpet for that you can use carpet sheets under the carpet or rug.