Blame
When considering who is responsible after an accident occurs, the court applies a very different standard to children. The court considers that a child often does not have the same mental capacity to appreciate the full danger of a situation as an adult would in the same circumstances. Children are therefore judged by the standard of an ordinary prudent and reasonable child of their age. As such the court will judge a child's actions by what can reasonably be expected of a child of the same age rather than an adult. As such, it is likely that the court would find an adult to be more at fault for an accident than they would a child in identical circumstances.
There are also situations where it is likely that a child would not be held responsible at all in situations where an adult would. An example of this is that if an adult is injured in a road traffic accident and his injuries are made worse by the fact that he was not wearing a seat belt, then he will be held to be partially responsible for their injuries. By contrast where the injured party is a child, who is not wearing a seat belt, the child is unlikely to be held partially responsible and therefore they are likely to award the child 100% of their compensation.
Children often have accidents whilst at school, particularly in the playground for example. During their time at school, a child is in the care of the teacher who is expected to behave as a parent would. Therefore, even if the accident was caused by the fact that the child was doing something that he should not have been doing, the child will not be held to be wholly responsible for the consequences.