I couldn't speak on the relative feeling of either irritant myself, but that wasn't my point.

Tear gas is a ranged weapon and has a wide area of effect. A kid getting caught up in that can be somewhat excusable depending on the circumstances. A kid may have been out of sight when the canister is deployed or on the peripheral of the target area. The one firing the cannister may have missed their target or someone may have deflected/redirected or picked up and thrown the cannister elsewhere where the kid was in the area of effect. The wind may have blown it unexpectedly, changing the area of effect towards a child. That is why I am making a distinction here. Tear gassing a child can be a mistake.

Pepper spray is a directed weapon with a short range and narrow spray zone. If a kid's face and shirt is stained from it, someone pointed their pepper spray bottle directly at her and pulled the trigger. This is not a mistake. That is someone targetting and attacking a child with a serious skin, eye and lung irritant, one that can have serious, even fatal, medical reactions. That is inexcusable.