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AIBU?

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Original poster

Young child caused accident on pavement

206 replies

Senso · 19/06/2026 19:41

AIBU to think that young children should not be allowed to be in charge of a pushchair on the pavement?

I was witness to an incident that happened on a busy street where a young child, aged around 8 was pushing a pushchair - occupied by a toddler - too fast, and collided with another pedestrian.

the injured person had been walking at a normal pace in the opposite direction but the child just charged straight into her causing her to fall and sustain quite a nasty impact injury.

The parents didn’t seem to get that the child had caused the accident, instead repeating that it was “just an accident, no-one was to blame”

i think otherwise.

OP posts:
FlappyDappyDoo · 19/06/2026 20:03

I don't understand why the pedestrian did not give them a wide birth if they were walking towards them.

I agree that it's the parents fault, but you can still mitigate for iffy situations by keeping a distance.

BeardySchnauzer · 19/06/2026 19:59

Yanbu. My mum is old and has osteoporosis and is terrified of a fall as she would break something. So far she’s had near misses with electric scooters, runners and bikes on the pavement and she’s very cautious but not sure she’d be looking out for a badly driven pram!

gillefc82 · 19/06/2026 19:58

Whilst I agree with you @Senso the reality is that the type of parents who allow their young kids to push a pushchair they can barely control / walk a dog that’s far too strong for them etc are precisely the kind who will never take any accountability for their choices, their child’s actions and any subsequent consequences that result. So I’m not sure what can be done.

On a bit of a tangent, but I’ve never liked the term accident as it implies an event which has happened purely by chance, and in no way linked to the choices or actions of anyone involved, rather than an accurate descriptor to signify a lack of intent behind such choices/actions.

In my view, unless your talking Act of God type territory, there’s pretty much no circumstance where an incident occurs and it can’t be traced back to something someone has done/failed to do.

Prombles · 19/06/2026 19:49

YANBU at all. As well as injuring a pedestrian, it's putting the toddler in the pram at risk. If the child can't control the pram, it could end up in the road. The response from the parents is disgraceful, they should be embarrassed that they've let their child cause someone an injury.

Backedoffhackedoff · 19/06/2026 19:44

I voted YABU because it’s hardly a big deal and you seem to be over dramatising it.

ohyesido · 19/06/2026 19:43

Do you want the child charged with ABH?