It can be looked at both ways...yes, a child is a parents responsibility and they must always sign for them in everything they do until the age of majority, but what about parental negligence?...It can't always be everybody elses fault. Somewhere, sometime down the line, blame needs to be placed on the offending party, not just who's got the most $$. There was a kart wreck a few years ago here where the kid had a helmet that was WAY too big cuz the parents didnt want to have to keep buying new ones while he was growing and he flipped, helmet came sailing off and his head was scrambled pretty well. Luckily he has recovered to the best of my knowledge, but to some point, the nanny state we are living in is being created by both sides of the equation, in my opinion.