Who should pay for accidental damage by child

barbarawright

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Has anyone said "The child" yet? How else do we learn personal responsibility without assuming responsibility for our own actions?

8 years old or not, i'm sure there are chores that could be done, pocket money that can be withheld, birthday money in the bank that could be used.

Failing that - the parent, then followed by the appropriate punishments. Unless those glasses had been left on the floor to be stood on, it's not the 'owners' fault they got broken.

Have you never knocked over anything? I can't believe that any of us haven't spilled a drink or broken a glass or something like that it a friends house. You apologise, offer to help clean up and offer to replace anything valuable. And then move on. I can't believe the replacement cost of these glasses is more than £30 max. And we're talking 'punishment'?

bouicca21 wrote: »

Who said a pair of glasses is a small amount? Mine cost nearly 500 quid. That's a hefty sum to find unexpectedly. and the excess on insurance policies means it won't be worth claiming.

Though I would add that the only time my glasses got broken to the extent that the lenses fell out was when I stepped on them. So the falling off the arm of the chair doesn't ring true to me.

It would be interesting to know the replacement costs of these glasses. If they are genuinely just reading glasses, you can pick them up cheaply in any chemist. Or even Poundland. Totally different from multi or varifocals

[Deleted User]

Jagraf wrote: »

At what age should a child not pay for something they break by accident? What about their own glasses? How come an adult can claim on insurance for stuff they break?

I can only claim on insurance for things because I've chosen to buy accidental damage insurance. If its someone else's house and I break something, or a shop - it's my fault and I pay for it. You can't wrap your kids up in cotton wool, pretend they are angels and not let them learn about responsibility.

Clowning around in a shop and break something? It's your fault for clowning around, so you (help) pay for it. There are no accidents - just incidents that occur because you (or someone else) never paid enough attention.

barbarawright wrote: »

Have you never knocked over anything? I can't believe that any of us haven't spilled a drink or broken a glass or something like that it a friends house. You apologise, offer to help clean up and offer to replace anything valuable. And then move on. I can't believe the replacement cost of these glasses is more than £30 max. And we're talking 'punishment'?

I can't actually remember the last time I broke something outside of my own home... because i'm not a cack-handed idiot.

Do we not realise that CHILDREN ARE NOT GROWN UPS. They need to be taught cause and effect. We're breeding a generation of that never learn to behave properly.

Also, the OPs child is probably lying - how on earth do glasses lens crack from a short fall from a sofa?

Jagraf

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I can only claim on insurance for things because I've chosen to buy accidental damage insurance. If its someone else's house and I break something, or a shop - it's my fault and I pay for it. You can't wrap your kids up in cotton wool, pretend they are angels and not let them learn about responsibility.

Clowning around in a shop and break something? It's your fault for clowning around, so you (help) pay for it. There are no accidents - just incidents that occur because you (or someone else) never paid enough attention.

I can't actually remember the last time I broke something outside of my own home... because i'm not a cack-handed idiot.

Do we not realise that CHILDREN ARE NOT GROWN UPS. They need to be taught cause and effect. We're breeding a generation of that never learn to behave properly.

Also, the OPs child is probably lying - how on earth do glasses lens crack from a short fall from a sofa?

I agree that children need to learn stuff, it's just that your way of doing it wouldn't teach them anything except how not to be forgiven for an accident. If it was done on purpose then these needs to be dealt with, but to just assume they wrecked the glasses and then lied is guilty until proven innocent, the exact opposite to what happens in the adult variety of folk. Where does clowning around in a shop come into it. Are you answering the wrong thread on an entirely different forum

I've broken three things this week. I dropped a mug at work, my bike chain came off and is ruined I tell you, and a hinge broke on my desk drawer. Off with my head.

Pollycat

fosswire wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

If my daughter was the child of both of us, would your reply be different?

If it was OUR daughter, it would come out of our joint finances.

But as it was MY daughter so should I pay when the glasses were left out of their case. Aren't accidents part and parcel of life when you have children visiting.

This sounds to me like you don't live together.
Do you expect your not-live-in-partner to put everything away in his own home just in case your daughter breaks something when you are both visiting?

fosswire

Thanks for all the replies.

Lots of differing views, and some people questioning lots of things.

Some facts to answer all the questions:
1) I've been living with my girlfriend for 5 years.
2) My daughter stays over every other weekend.
3) My daughter was not being boisterous at all. It was an accident.
4) We were all in the same room when it happened.
5) Of course my daughter apologised - she has been brought up well.
6) The lens had come out of the frame.
7) I took them to Specsavers and they repaired them for free within 5 minutes.

So the situation has been resolved.

But I liked reading other people's opinions :T

Thanks again.

Jagraf

fosswire wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.

Lots of differing views, and some people questioning lots of things.

Some facts to answer all the questions:
1) I've been living with my girlfriend for 5 years.
2) My daughter stays over every other weekend.
3) My daughter was not being boisterous at all. It was an accident.
4) We were all in the same room when it happened.
5) Of course my daughter apologised - she has been brought up well.
6) The lens had come out of the frame.
7) I took them to Specsavers and they repaired them for free within 5 minutes.

So the situation has been resolved.

But I liked reading other people's opinions :T

Thanks again.

This has made me laugh 😂😂

pollypenny

fosswire wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.

Lots of differing views, and some people questioning lots of things.

Some facts to answer all the questions:
1) I've been living with my girlfriend for 5 years.
2) My daughter stays over every other weekend.
3) My daughter was not being boisterous at all. It was an accident.
4) We were all in the same room when it happened.
5) Of course my daughter apologised - she has been brought up well.
6) The lens had come out of the frame.
7) I took them to Specsavers and they repaired them for free within 5 minutes.

So the situation has been resolved.

But I liked reading other people's opinions :T

Thanks again.

If it happens again:

Lens in fridge

Frame in a jug of hot water

Leave fir about five minutes. Lens contracts, frame expands, pop lens in.

Done it many times.

Pollycat

fosswire wrote: »

7) I took them to Specsavers and they repaired them for free within 5 minutes.

fosswire wrote: »

The glasses were left on the arm of a sofa and were knocked to the floor and the frame was cracked and the lens came out.

How did they repair the cracked frame?

fierystormcloud

bouicca21 wrote: »

Who said a pair of glasses is a small amount? Mine cost nearly 500 quid. That's a hefty sum to find unexpectedly. and the excess on insurance policies means it won't be worth claiming.

£500! :eek: Are they made of gold?

My husband needs elaborate lenses (UV filter, strong prescription, scratch resistant, ultra light, ultra thin, lense flare reduction, reactolite so they go darker in the sun to protect his eyes, etc,) and he got TWO all-singing all-dancing pairs with all the frills and extras for £239 for from specsavers. That is £239 for the TWO pairs.

If you paid £500 for ONE pair of glasses, I think they must have seen you coming.

fosswire wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.

Lots of differing views, and some people questioning lots of things.

Some facts to answer all the questions:
1) I've been living with my girlfriend for 5 years.
2) My daughter stays over every other weekend.
3) My daughter was not being boisterous at all. It was an accident.
4) We were all in the same room when it happened.
5) Of course my daughter apologised - she has been brought up well.
6) The lens had come out of the frame.
7) I took them to Specsavers and they repaired them for free within 5 minutes.

So the situation has been resolved.

But I liked reading other people's opinions :T

Thanks again.

I am glad you got it sorted, and glad to see you took the advice of myself and several others to go to the opticians. Specsavers are great and will often repair your glasses for you for free.

Maybe now, the catty and demeaning remarks about the OP's relationship can stop?!

Kudos to the OP for rising above the flaming and baiting.

Jagraf

I reckon the whole story was a little bit of a jokey xx