Generally, the law requires a person to exercise the degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise under the same circumstances. This is called “the duty of reasonable care.” A person who breaches his duty of reasonable care is guilty of negligence.
Adults have a special duty of care with respect to children. Adults are legally required to exercise a greater degree of care for the safety of children because children lack the intelligence and experience of adults. Adults must anticipate the ordinary behavior of children, taking into account the fact that children do not ordinarily act as cautiously or as prudently as adults. For example, when driving past a school, an adult has a legal duty to anticipate that a child might unexpectedly run into the street.
