Accident-prone children

Wednesday, January 8, 2003

Accident-prone children are literally bringing the house down - and it's costing their parents a fortune, according to research conducted on behalf of the Zurich insurance company. The first 15 years of childhood cost parents 1,556 in household disasters, including broken furniture and stained carpets, and the ages of three to five are the most accident-prone period in a child's life. More than one in seven of the parents surveyed also reported damage caused by someone else's child. Boys were more likely than girls to have accidents, with more than 25 per cent of boys guilty of smashing windows compared with 11 per cent of girls. More than one in ten parents said they had had to redecorate after children had practised their artistic skills on the walls.