What can you expect from a rug in a kid's room?

        A color that doesn't show dirt, backing that doesn't peel off and a design that blends in well with that sticky gunk that comes with a toddler and stays put through the teens.

        Right. Right. And right.

        The rugs that Jim Banks of Norwood sells on his Web site, www.kidcarpet.com, do more than that.

        They teach — the ABCs, the 1,2,3s, being sensitive to others' feelings, French and Spanish, north-south-east-and-west, the layout of the solar system, where Italy is on the world map, the seasons of the year, the location of Idaho. They're socked with color and designed for learning .

        Mr. Banks, 34, started out with rugs in 1998 at the other end of the educational spectrum — selling carpets for dorm rooms.

        He discovered children's rugs and, a year later, he was dealing with a decidedly younger set. Instead of trafficking in carpets that hide pizza and beer stains, he's into those that resist milk-stains — and worse.

        “I pretty much made it up as I went along,” he says of his Web business that sells 3-by-5-foot area rugs to wall-to-wall carpets.

        “I was in the home building and remodeling business before this, so I started learning about carpet from the customer's perspective.”

        That taught him that people looking for kids carpeting want more than a thin mat in a bright color.

        “These are the most plush, durable and stain-resistant children's carpet and area rugs on the market,” he says. And all are fire-, stain-, static-, mold- and bacteria-resistant. Most are 100 percent nylon.

        “We found that wool, cotton and other natural fibers do not work well for kids because nylon is more stain-resistant,” he says, “and the strongest of the synthetics.”

        If that's not enough to please a picky mom, the designs are really fun for the little people who will be squirming around on them.

        There are ABCs marching across primary-color squares, a compass, an alphabet of feelings, a U.S. map, solar system and Noah's ark. There's even a French/English and Spanish/English design to teach the simple names of objects, and a line of glow-in-the-dark rugs.

        Prices range from $149.99 for a 3-by-5 Noah's ark to $409.99 for a 7-by-10-foot size.

        Carpets are made in the Dalton, Ga., area and shipped directly to buyers.

        To make sure consumers know what to look for, Mr. Banks' Web site has good information on how to shop for flooring, installation for wall-to-wall carpet, avoiding home building rip-offs, plus links to other helpful sites.

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