Say your kid broke a window. . .

[charabby]

My older dd was at a friend's house last week and her friend's older brothers had a friend over (the older kids are all about 13). The kids were supervised by the friend's grandparents b/c the mom was at work.

So the older kids decide to kit golf balls around the yard - which is very big, btw. The visiting friend hit the ball in such a way that it went toward the house and broke a round window on the second floor (a hole as big as someone's head).

So the homeowner expects the visiting friend's mom to cover the deductible - which happens to be $1,000 (she thinks the window will come to more than that). The visitor's mom does not want to pay at all b/c it was an accident.

I would pay the deductible or the cost to replace the window, but I think, at the very least, the visitor's mom should be offering to pay half the deductible. What do you think?

As an added issue, the consensus among our mutual friends is that the homeowner mom should pay the total cost b/c in their opinion, she (or her parents) failed to provide adequate supervision. Of these 13 yo's who presumbably are aware of what happens if you hit a window with a hard object.

 

[RitaZ.]

How about just replacing the glass? Why is replacing the whole window necessary?

 

[annegal]

I agree. Hire a Glass glazer to replace the glass!

 

[Beth76]

Wow, that's tough since you're talking about $1000. My son and his friend were throwing rocks at friend's patio door and broke it (they were around 3 years old at the time). We could not ascertain who actually broke it since they both admitted to throwing rocks. So we split the cost of the new door which was $300. I'm friends with the mom and I was at the house at the time.

I see the point of the grandparents should have been watching better. But I also see the point of 13yos should know better. I don't think I would be watching my 13yo like a hawk. I think at the very least the kid's mom needs to pay half. She probably should pay the whole thing though.

The visitor's mom does not want to pay at all b/c it was an accident.

Well that's a load of hooey. It was HER kid who had the accident. Why should the other people have to pay for her kid's accident? If she's claiming they should have been supervised-that's one thing. But if her claim is it was an accident-she needs to cough up the dough.

 

[MushyMushy]

My kid broke a glass window once. Well, technically, three boys were doing something they shouldn't be doing (can't remember what now), and we couldn't tell exactly which boy broke the window. We decided to split it among the three of us, but we were the only ones who ended up paying.

At any rate, whether it's $10 to replace, or $1,000 to replace, the visiting friend's mom should pony up.

 

[charabby]

I heard all the drama the day it happened from each 'side'. It happened to be dance practice night and we live in a small town so the window incident was the main topic of conversation for a good 20 minutes. Anyway, at that point, the homeowner mom hadn't even had anyone come out for a quote - I imagine it will in fact be *much* cheaper than she fears. The visitor mom probably won't pay regardless (or is it 'irregardless') b/c she's one of those people who always finds a way for something to not be her fault.

 

[paigevz]

I would offer to pay it, but I'd want an estimate first. Sure, they should have been supervised, but also, it's the parent's responsibility to see to it that someone is there to supervise. I haven't let my child stay at someone's house if it's a grandparent or babysitter there..............I figure they don't need an extra kid to watch!

Our neighbor's kid kicked a ball into our window once. He came over and told us he had, and his parents weren't home at the time, he was about 9. He asked if I had to tell his dad, and I told him I expected him to tell his dad, and it would be okay, everyone has accidents. When his dad got home, he came right over and examined it, and took measurements, then was back in an hour with a new glass which he installed. I was impressed with the kid for owning up to it with me and his dad, and the dad for taking care of it so quickly!

 

[heidica]

The visitor mom probably won't pay regardless (or is it 'irregardless')

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I think the decent thing to do would be for the window-breaking kid's mom to pay for the damages her son did.

The age of reason is said to be 7 years old. There are 13 yr olds who are responsible enough to be paid for babysitting.

The excuse that they were not adequately supervised is not good enough in my opinion.

 

[ilovejack02]

The parents of the child who broke the window should pay for it. A 13 yr old should know better and no parents should not have to watch 13 yr old boys like they have to watch 5 yr olds. Also there would be NO way in hell id file a claim on it, with the crazy problems in the homeowners insurance these days these companies look for in any small thing to raise costs or drop policies.

 

[ilovejack02]

I heard all the drama the day it happened from each 'side'. It happened to be dance practice night and we live in a small town so the window incident was the main topic of conversation for a good 20 minutes. Anyway, at that point, the homeowner mom hadn't even had anyone come out for a quote - I imagine it will in fact be *much* cheaper than she fears. The visitor mom probably won't pay regardless (or is it 'irregardless') b/c she's one of those people who always finds a way for something to not be her fault.

Thats what small claims court is for

Or and this may be reaching..... but i wonder if the homeowner could go against the other person's homeowners insurance for the damage.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I'm still trying to figure this out...$1000 for a window? That's ridiculous! What was it made of, designer leaded glass? As for who pays, that's a tough one, but I'm thinking it should probably be 50/50 between the kid who threw the ball, and the friends parents who weren't providing adequate supervision. But replacement glass for a window should not cost anywhere near $1000.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

The mother of the child that broke it needs to pay for it. At 13 this child should know right from wrong. YEs, it was an accident, but blaming it on supervision is just not right at all and it was his fault.

 

[Beca]

I went thru a phase where I just LOVED to watch The People's Court!! One of the things I took away from that experience was that in MOST states, if someone invites a child to a home and something is broken accidentally, neither the child, nor the child's family is responsible "legally". However, they said someone over 18 is responsible. I thought that was very interesting.

Now me...I would be so embarrassed, I would definitely pay for the window...it would just feel like the right thing to do.

How's that for "armchair lawyering"?

 

[charabby]

Thats what small claims court is for

Or and this may be reaching..... but i wonder if the homeowner could go against the other person's homeowners insurance for the damage.

Actually, someone mentioned that night that the homeowner brought that up. I have no idea if that could be done or not - liability?

 

[mom2boys]

As the mother of boys about that age, I can tell you now that if one of mine had hit that ball, we would be paying for the window. Doesn't home owners usually cover it when my kid goes somewehre & does something without thinking. I don't fault the grandparents. It is a teaching opportunity for the kid - you need to be aware of the consequences of all of your actions. Kids -especially boys this age don't think beyond the moment.


My 12 year old decided to practice soccer goals by kicking the ball at the house - directly under the picture window with his father in the living room. Father responded like a Dad and told DS to not to kick the ball on the porch. It wasn't 24 hours later that this same DS was kicking the ball on the same porch under the same picture window (which happens to be less than 3 feet off the ground.) Conversation went something like this:
Me: What are doing?
DS: Practicing my soccer
Me: Didn't Dad tell you not to kick the ball there?
DS: Ummm. That was yesterday.
Me: Do you see that big picture window?
DS: The window - oh yeah. Oops!

We "only" have an acre for the kid to kick the ball on. The neighbors are soccer freaks with another acre and no fence in between. So that leaves the poor kid with only 2 acres to find a parentally acceptable place to kick the soccer ball.

 

[Southern4sure]

What is adequate supervision for 13 yr olds? An adult was at home be it grandmother or mom, IMHO it doesnt matter. 13 is old enough to know not to hit a golf ball towards a house. It was an accident BUT the childs mother is responsible for the damages whether it is the deductible or actual charges. Personally I would not want to file a claim over this.

The actual cost to replace/fix the window is unknown. First would be to get several estimates, present them to the mom with the expectation of her paying for the damages. If the costs exceeds the deductible oh well, the homeowner does not have to file a claim and the other mom can be taken to small claims court.

 

[Lil_Tink]

$1000 for a window? I agree, that is not what I would consider a regular window to be priced at. I would get an estimate, and the child who broke the windows mom should pay up, or the child who broke the window should.

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

We just recently had something similar happen --- DD and neighbor girl were playing in the yard - had a disagreement and DD ran inside the house and shut the back door - neighbor girl mad came running up back porch and started POUNDING on the window of the door yelling DD's name --- the window shattered

We were so lucky neither girl was hurt - door to the house was over 100 years old - apparently so was the glass - it wasn't tempered -- we got several estimates - 96.00 was the cheapest because they couldn't put regular glass back in - it had to be tempered -- we were floored by the price - this was just a small window - maybe 2 ft by 2 ft at the most

Neighbors offered to pay until they saw the bill - we haven't heard back from them yet --

If it was my child - we would pay

 

[bettyann29]

If it were my child Id pay for the window.. but I would definitely offer to have the glass replaced.. Not sure why the entire thing needs to be replaced... the glass wont cost $1000.. regardless of the supervision if my child broke it, they broke it and I would be responsible.