I have a dog & she is the sweetest & gentlest thing. I have put hours & hours of training into her & she meets new, sometimes very young children almost every day. She has never shown any sign of aggression or fear around children. HOWEVER - I would never leave her along w/ a child. Really there are a couple of reasons for this - firstly I want to protect her from the child - who knows how the child might provoke the dog - it's just not fair on the dog. Also, whilst I trust her, she isn't human and I would not be able to live with myself if anything happened - even a tiny nip. Plus, I would feel extremely embarrassed in front of the parents. Plus, I could never feel quite the same about her again. So I think very little is to be gained by leaving her alone with a child, and there is a great deal to be lost. I want her to be an ambassador for dog-kind and help fearful kids be better around dogs - I don't need to test her in an uncontrollable situation. My trainer says 'always set the dog up for success' - so I want to make sure I am there whenever she is exposed to kids.