A child is generally responsible (liable) for the consequences of his or her wrongful acts. However, the degree of reasonable care required of a child depends on the age of the child and the standard of care normally expected of a child of that age.

To some extent the rules applying to children are different from those for adults who commit wrongful acts, especially where a person's state of mind is an essential consideration. A young child may be aware of what he or she is doing, and even know that the action is wrong, but still be incapable of foreseeing its consequences and will therefore not have acted negligently. For example, in McHale v Watson (1966) 115 CLR 199, a 12 year old boy threw a metal dart at a post but the dart glanced off the post and hit a 9 year old girl in the eye. The boy was found not to be negligent because a boy of 12 years could not be expected to foresee that the dart might not stick into the post and could go off at a tangent and hit someone.

The capacity of a child must be considered and decided in each case. Obviously, the closer a child is to adulthood, the more the standard of care will resemble that required of an adult. A child who engages in an adult activity such as driving a car or handling a gun may be expected to meet the standard of care applicable to an adult.