I would not put wall-to-wall carpet in a child's room. A nice, bound area rug will be fine, and ready to throw out if it becomes a toxic waste site.

Anglophilia - I appreciate that opinion. We had hardwoods and rugs in their rooms in our previous (flooded) house. Our current tiny living space has concrete floors and a few rugs. They have made very few request regarding our rebuild and 2/3 of them really want carpet in their rooms. I'm ok with it and honestly we can stretch and replace it later ourselves - so I'm ok with carpet. Now- picking a good one is where I need help.

Look at commercial carpet in a real carpet store. I used it in 3 kids bedrooms and it wore like iron. Easy to vacuum too.

Gracie - is that considered berber?

Thank you Chocolatesnap. When we finally move in our home, my kids will be 6, 10, and 12. We have strict rules about food and even water in bedrooms, so that shouldn't be a problem. But good to know about the waterproof carpet pad. I am definitely in need of durability!! We use a Roomba for frequent vacuuming and he does much better with full carpet than carpet plus rugs.

We're probably putting carpet in the kids' rooms, as well. I'm thinking about nylon for stain resistance and durability. Polyester and olefin are less expensive and might be a good fit if you plan on replacing it within a few years. The pad will be mid-range. The pile will be something like frieze and definitely nothing with loops.

My kids aren't very young, with the youngest 11. Food and drink aren't allowed in the bedrooms, though they've tried to sneak Halloween candy on occasion.

Frankly, I'd prefer to put tile everywhere and use area rugs. That's cost prohibitive so this is my compromise.

Here are a couple of guides I found

http://www.carpetprofessor.com/best_carpet_for_kids_and_pets.htm

https://www.carpetcaptain.com/carpet-buying-guide/best-carpet-kids/

Shaw is an excellent brand. Stainmaster and Mohawk Smartstrand are also good. I just put in Shaw Tuftex (a recently acquired "high end" subsidiary brand of Shaw) that I love. I put it in the room over the garage and on the stairs.

Berber(looped) will hold up better than a plush, but plush feels better. I put the diamond pattern on the stairs (it's a berber/plush mix).

Get nylon, not polyester.

As far as stain resistance, stick with the top brands - practically every carpet brand has good stain treatments now.

This is a great website with lots of good info on carpet.

http://www.carpetprofessor.com/new_page_23.htm

Alex and Chess - THANK YOU so much for the info and links. Hitting some research overload and it is nice to have those links.

Shaw also has some great prints that can hide lots of oops in a child's bedroom.