Eltern haften für ihre Kinder. Parents are liable for their children. According to the insurer ERGO, most German building sites carry this notice. ERGO’s legal portal lists it among common legal errors. Allein durch ein Schild wird keine zusätzliche Haftung der Eltern begründet. A sign alone creates no extra liability for parents. Parents can be held liable only if they failed in their duty of supervision. The law dictionary of the Federal Agency for Civic Education says the familiar notice ist daher so pauschal nicht richtig, is not correct in such general form. Until their seventh birthday, children cannot be held liable for damage they cause at all.
The duty to keep the site safe stays with whoever runs it. ERGO calls this die Pflicht eines Betreibers, z. B. einer Baustelle, seiner Verkehrssicherungspflicht nachzukommen, the operator’s duty to secure the site.