When property has been damaged or a person injured owing to the actions of a child, the common law position of the civil courts is that a parent is not responsible for the actions of a child when committed without the parent’s knowledge, participation, or sanction.

If a parent was negligent and failed to exercise reasonable supervision and control over the child, the courts will likely hold parents responsible for any damages caused. In most cases, it will be up to the parent to prove that there was no negligence.

In criminal law, the child alone will be held responsible to the extent allowed under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. This law, which deals with the criminal actions of youth, applies only to children who are 12 years of age or more, but under 18 years of age. Below the age of 12, no criminal action will follow. At age 18 and older, the individual is considered an adult in the eyes of criminal courts.

								
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