had an accident

[NickJunior]

Hello Forum,

I want to be sure I know how to use this term "have an accident" correctly. If a child urinated in his pants at the store, how do I politely say it?

(1) The child had an accident in his pants?

(2) The child had an accident?

Thanks.

 

[yourfairlady05]

I would go with the second one. Or maybe "The child had a little accident"

 

[KHS]

Are you trying to bring it to a parent's attention? In that case, definitely "little" - I'm sorry to bother you, but I believe your child may have had a little accident.

 

[NickJunior]

Thank you FairLady and KHS for responding. Yes, I want to let the parent of the child know. By inserting the words "a little" , does that mean the child only urinates in the pants? What if the child actually "defecated" in the pants, can I use the words "a big" accident?

 

[KHS]

"Little" really only functions as a way to reduce embarrassment for the parent - a way to make the incident seem small in importance.

 

[Cypherpunk]

It also keeps them from panicking, so they don't think their child has had a serious accident resulting in an injury. It's a way of being considerate, since some parents can be anxious about their child's/children's safety when they are out in public.

 

[NickJunior]

Thank you KHS and CypherP. I have never thought of that dimension at all. I learned so much more from your wisdom.