I think dogs can sense the young, regardless of species. I found the same with my collie and our cat Greebo. Ben would chase any cat until we got Greebo as a kitten.

When Greebo joined us Ben could be quite frequently found trotting through with Greebo dangling from his neck....daft beast.

Dougal is great with kids, he isn't overly affectionate but will patiently allow them to pet him, cuddle or whatever...until they get a ball...then he is all happy dog and wants to play!

Lana knows the difference. If a young child takes her ball to throw it, even if they hold onto it for ages she doesn't jump up at them, whereas if an adult had it she would be throwing herself at them to get the ball. Lana is very gentle with children. She's had children come up behind her, round the corner at a bus stop or something and launch themselves at her and allows them to pat her but if an adult came up she would be barking her head off.

Wilma's the same ~ adores children but is wary of strange adults, particularly large men that loom over her as they go to touch her, so she backs away. But she positively seeks out children when she hears their voices. She just walks over slowly, drops her ball in front of them, & backs away staring at her ball. I've never met a child yet that doesn't understand what she's trying to tell them.

The other evening there was a group of kids about 10-12 years old, playing on a big pile of hay in a field. Wilma ran over to them, did her ball drop, then when they ignored her, she climbed up onto the pile of hay & sat next to them. When I looked round she was in the middle of all the kids having a cuddle, then rolled over for a tummy rub, then they threw her ball. I ended up having to & collect her because she was having such a lovely time.

Yep I think they know the difference, not that mine come into contact with kids often.I used to have a wonderfull dog called Teddy he was a huge black pointer x gsd but looked like a black lab, he used to jump up at everyone. One day some friends turned up with thier 8 year old son who was terified of dogs, Ted didnt jump at him just kept coming up with one toy after another untill I told the boy to throw one for him, by the end of the afternoon both boy and dog wher knackerd from playing so much and when they went back to the UK mum and dad had to go out and buy a dog.
Ted also knew when someone had a problem, when my dad used to visit us (he had two false legs) ted would wait for him to come in and sit down before he went up quitley for a stroke and cuddle.

No. A dog has no way of knowing a child will change unless they have had the experience of watching a child grow. I know this by observation of Daisy, who regarded children with the same horror she reserved for other experiences she had not met before - ladders, traffic wardens, umbrellas. Short unpredictable creatures were incomprehensible to her and she reacted to them till she learned they were a normal part of the scenery.
With puppies it`s a different thing - it is part of a dog`s instict to tolerate young of its own kind - otherwise the species wouldn`t survive.
In the same way we find immature characteristics appealing (big eyes, small stature, helplessness).
Knowing that a child is in some way in need of special treatment is a different thing. Yes, confident, kind dogs will react by helping people with special needs or tottering toddlers - that`s a different thing entirely.
I thinl it is not safe to assume dogs understand that human children have (in our world) a special place.

Shady seems the oppisite of your dogs as she hates children with a vengence and is very aggresive on sight of one yet an adult she will let do anything with her.
She also hates puppies, well all dogs really but puppies even more so.
So yes she can tell the difference between an adult and a child, but I don't think she would realise they are called children, in fact I think her name for them would be far from polite