Friend to All Children: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"♪KRAAAAAAAGERRRRAAA!!!♪ [[Friend to All Children]], here to help!"''|'''[[Expy|Kra]][[Gamera|gera]]''', [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|friend to all children]], ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (Animation)|The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]''}}

Just describing a character as being fond of (or at least having a soft spot for) children is an automatic [[Pet the Dog]] since [[Children Are Innocent]] with bonus points if [[Licked Byby the Dog|the kids like the character back]]. Characters who [[Child -Hater|don't like kids]] are usually villains or, at most, anti-heroic. Note that this trope doesn't apply if it is a disguise put on to avoid suspicion for something [[Lolicon|else]] [[Shotacon|entirely...]]

This is mainly a trait of the [[Gentle Giant]], the [[Emotional Bruiser]], [[The Messiah]], a ''requirement'' for [[Purity Personified]]<ref>Though not every [[Friend to All Children]] is [[Purity Personified]].</ref> unless [[Pure Is Not Good]] is in play, and a redeeming trait for many [[Anti -Hero|antiheroes]]. Overlaps with [[Wouldn't Hurt a Child]], as characters who fit this trope not only are reluctant to injure children, but would go out of their way to protect children if it was necessary.

This is [[Older Than Feudalism]]. Compare [[Friend to All Living Things]] and [[Big Brother Instinct]], and contrast [[Child -Hater]].

* ''[[Berserk]]'', of all series plays with this concerning [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold|Guts]] of all people. Even though he's regularly a dick to anyone and everyone (including kids), it's usually for their own protection (and because he does not want to see them hurt). Despite the emotional scars of his own horrific childhood (or perhaps because of them) and his gruff nature, [[Aloof Big Brother|children seem to just love him.]] Unfortunately, considering [[It Got Worse|the nature of the series]], {{spoiler|Wouldn'tHurtAChild}} is subverted horribly in the most graphic and heartbreaking way possible.

* In ''[[Black Lagoon]]'', one of Rock's few real [[Berserk ButtonsButton]]s is someone abusing or harming a child. Even when {{spoiler|Garcia Lovelace throws food at him or "Gretel" openly propositions him}} he'll do all he can to help them.

* A defining trait of any of the heroes in ''[[Fist of the North Star (Manga)|Fist of the North Star]]''. Kenshiro himself is one of the most famous [[Papa Wolf|Papa Wolves]] in anime and manga, but the biggest examples are Fudoh and Shu.

* Frowski the Crimson Bullet, from ''[[Beet the Vandel Buster (Manga)|Beet the Vandel Buster]]'', loves kids and animals...but only at a certain level of cuteness. After that, they're dead meat.

* Ash from ''[[MAR (Manga)|MAR]]'', despite being a member of the evil chess group, only sides with them because he believes their actions will lead to a peaceful world for kids. He even plays with children when he isn't fighting.

* Oddly enough, Seto Kaiba from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (Animeanime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]''. Especially orphans, which makes sense, seeing as he ''was'' one. It's a package deal with his [[Hidden Heart of Gold]].

* Believe it or not, ''[[Death Note (Manga)|Death Note]]'''s L [[Sociopathic Hero|of]] [[Jerkass|all]] [[Hidden Depths|people]] is presented in the spin-off ''[[L Change the World (Film)|L: Change the World]]'' as being very good with kids. Despite the fact he has [[No Social Skills]], he's shown as being very protective of the Whammy Orphans, acts a little [[Pet the Dog|nicer]] around them, and is seen talking to a group of kids and answering whatever questions they might have. In the canon continuity, Mello and Near both look up to him as a [[Big Brother Mentor]] so it's implied he might have been this to them, at least, in the anime and manga.

* Spike Spiegel from ''[[Cowboy Bebop (Anime)|Cowboy Bebop]]'' says that he hates "kids, animals, and women with attitudes." Guess who's on the ship with him...

* Nicholas D. Wolfwood from ''[[Trigun (Manga)|Trigun]]'' runs his own orphanage because [[Dark and Troubled Past|he doesn't want kids to grow up the way he did]].

* [[A Father to His Men|Alexander Anderson]], from ''[[Hellsing (Manga)|Hellsing]]'', operates an orphanage where he actually raised some of Iscariot's members including Enrico Maxwell, Heinkel Wolfe, and Yumie Takagi. In fact when we first see him in the OVA, he is breaking up a fight between two children, telling them that "Violence is never the right answer, except when used against [[Acceptable Targets|heathens and monsters]]."

* [[Cool Big Sis|Yoko]], as well as [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold|Kittan]], from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Anime)|Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]''.

* All [[EverythingsEverything's Better Withwith Princesses|Princess Marina Ismail]] has done since the beginning of the second season of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' was comforting and taking care of the (orphaned) children at the [[La Résistance]] base. Makes more or less sense, considering that {{spoiler|these kids are from her kingdom. Which was swiftly destroyed by the local [[Complete Monster]], Ali Al Saachez.}}

** Similarly, Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato were running an orphanage in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny]]''.

* Chachamaru in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima (Manga)|Mahou Sensei Negima]]''. When Negi and Asuna followed her in an early chapter, they found her surrounded by a lot of children who're playing with her while she goes around doing good deeds, like handing a balloon stuck in a tree back to the little girl who lost it and [[Friend to All Living Things|saving kittens from drowning]]. Unsurprisingly, they quickly lost the motivation to beat up Chachamaru since she turned out to be [[Anti -Villain|a genuinely good person even though]] [[The Dragon|she's a minion]] of the then [[Big Bad]] Eva. Then again, ''Eva'' [[Noble Demon|didn't turn out to be as bad as she liked to paint herself]] either, so it sort of makes sense, all told.

* Deathsaurus, the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Transformers Victory (Anime)|Transformers Victory]]'', has a soft spot for human children and even "adopts" an injured infant who parents were killed in one of his attacks on Earth and turns him into a cyborg.

* [[The Messiah|Tsuna]] from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn (Manga)|Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]''. Pretty much every child he meets gets ''really'' attached to him. Particularly of the [[Tyke Bomb|deadly, assassin kind]]. It's even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] that he constantly finds himself babysitting them (which he laments about). However, even though he complains and finds it an inconvenience, he sincerely does like them. In fact, one chapter was dedicated to showing that, out of all the characters, Tsuna was the one that was most fit to raise Lambo. So far, he's been raising Lambo and I-Pin, and Futa was shown to get ''very'' attached to him.

** And then there's Lanchia, who despite having the [[Face of a Thug]], is very nice to children and has Fuuta, I-Pin and Lambo literally ''crawling'' over him when he visits Tsuna's house.

* In the ''[[Full Metal Panic (Light Novel)|Full Metal Panic!]]: Overload!'' manga, [[Sociopathic Hero|Sousuke]] is shown to be a ''huge'' child magnet. He doesn't particularly like children (and, being the paranoid [[Crazy Survivalist]] he is, always suspects them to be spies of the enemy), but they ''love'' him. All of them love his [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|over-the-top way of doing things]], and think his [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]] attitude is awesome. His ward Kaname, on the other hand, likes children. However, [[Irony|none of them seem to like her]].

* Subverted (like all opportunities to [[Pet the Dog]]) by Johan Liebert of ''[[Monster (Animemanga)|Monster]]''. It ''looks'' like Johan has a soft spot for children -- hechildren—he's been shown watching over some on occasion and, when posing as a college grad student, majors in law focusing on children's rights -- untilrights—until we actually meet one of these kids he's been "caring" for and [[Complete Monster|learn about this fun little game he's been encouraging them to play...]]

* Apachai Hopachai, one of the teachers of ''[[Kenichi: theThe Mightiest Disciple (Manga)|Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple]],'' is often playing with children and is able to be gentle with them despite having been trained to go all out whenever he fights. Because Apachai ''also'' goes all out when training Kenichi (nearly killing him more than once), he learns to relate training Kenichi with playing with those children in order to temper that tendency.

* For a 20-year-old young man that was practically raised by wolves and is [[No Social Skills|horrible]] at [[Not Good Withwith People|socializing with other adults]] ([[Idiot Hero|in a way that doesn't involve punching something]]), ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam (Anime)|Mobile Fighter G Gundam]]'''s Domon Kasshu is surprisingly good with kids ("Domon, since when have ''you'' started babysitting?"). Then again, given that he more or less has the social skills of a ten-year-old, maybe it ''does'' make some sense.

* Mifune from ''[[Soul Eater (Manga)|Soul Eater]]'' loves children, and serves people he actively hates simply because it's what he believes is the best way to protect his ward. He also has difficulty fighting BlackStar until the latter proves to him that, as a [[Highly -Visible Ninja|ninja]], he's considered an adult warrior. And he ''blushes'' when offered the chance to work as a teacher of children.

* ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'''s Zoro tends to be this, whether he likes it or not. When we first meet him, he had killed a dog for attacking a little girl, which got him arrested. And later on, whenever Chopper's in danger, Zoro is usually the one to get him out of it and [[Papa Wolf|can get very protective of him]]. He also 'gently' KOed a 'nun' and a little kid in the Baroque Works village, rather than slashing them (as he does the adult males who attack him). He also takes on Miss Monday barehanded, although this may be out of a need for speed (or to prove a point) rather than gentlemanliness.

* Bean Bandit from ''[[Gunsmith Cats (Manga)|Gunsmith Cats]]'', it gets pointed out to him rather abruptly in ''[[Riding Bean]]'' when the villain [[Exploited Trope|turns her own accomplice into a hostage]].

{{quote| "You have a serious character flaw. What matters to you is not whether it's friend or foe, but whether or not it's a kid."}}

* Gintoki from ''[[Gintama (Manga)|Gintama]]'' definitely qualifies. He busted up the illegal gladiator ring in order to avenge the fallen gladiator, who took in many orphans and was trying to run away from the gladiator ring with those children, and fought against the entire underground city and its boss (who is from one of the strongest races in the universe) so one child could reunite with his mother.

* When [[Fatal Fury|Terry Bogard first sees Lily Maguire]] after many years, she introduces herself as a playful and sexy [[The Vamp|vamp]] who offers to stay all night long with the man who catches her favorite red rose. However, he soon sees that [[Femme Fatale|she's]] [[Broken Bird|got]] [[Hidden Depths]] - by catching her interacting with a bunch of [[Street Urchin|Street Urchins]]s to whom she gives food, money and kind words.

* Curiously, [[Haruhi Suzumiya (Light Novel)|Haruhi Suzumiya]] seems to get along very well with children. She adores Kyon's little sister and is also seen playing joyfully with children in the pool during the Endless Eight arc.

* ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler (Manga)|Hayate the Combat Butler]]'''s Hayate finds comfort in the fact that kids like him, even to the point of suggesting off-handedly of becoming a kindergarden teacher after Isumi states she likes him, despite the fact that the 'kids' are only three years younger than him. This is on top of his [[Unwanted Harem]], since it also includes Wataru. Hayate isn't a [[Gentle Giant]] though [[Papa Wolf]] tendencies may play a part.

* Okita Souji from ''[[Peacemaker Kurogane (Manga)|Peacemaker Kurogane]]'' is often seen playing with children outside the Shinsengumi compound, and gets along very well with [[Kid Samurai|Tetsu]]

* In ''[[Durarara (Light Novel)|Durarara!!]]'' it turns out that, against all odds, Shinra Kishitani is actually very good with small children. Of course, since Shinra has a [[Too Much Information|well-earned reputation]] of being a [[Too Kinky to Torture|kinky]] [[Nightmare Fetishist|pervert]], even his friends [[Mistaken for Pedophile|assume the worst]].

* Dr. Hiroshi Agasa of ''[[Detective Conan (Manga)|Detective Conan]]'', the adult that the Detective Junior League get along the best with.

* Irako Seigen from ''[[Shigurui (Manga)|Shigurui]]'' is an unusual example. A ruthless killer and [[Manipulative Bastard|manipulator]], but when ever he has to deal with children he goes out his way to be nice to them. Notable with the starving street urchin. No one else would touch the kid, but he washed her, gave her food and even a place to stay.

* Despite being a [[Bastard Boyfriend]], Kyo from ''[[Black Bird (Manga)|Black Bird]]'' gets along very well with children. Taro adores him, to start.

* ''[[Bleach (Manga)|Bleach]]'' has Ukitake, who certainly seems to ''think'' he's good with kids but finds himself with stubborn and bad-tempered ones who are Really Seven Hundred Years Old - see Lilynette in canon and the long-suffering Hitsugaya in omakes. And in the case of the Token Loli Arrancar, actually want to [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain|kill him]].

* ''[[Fairy Tail (Manga)|Fairy Tail]]'' has Erza as a fine example. When the titular Fairy Tail forms an alliance with some other guilds to take down a powerful enemy, one of the guilds only send a young girl, Wendy, to help. Most of the alliance members are protesting to have a child help them, however Erza is the only one to say to Wendy that she is glad to have her on their team and excuse for the other's reactions. Later, when Wendy breaks down crying when realizing that her guild companions are nothing but an illusion, it's Erza who comforts Wendy and invites her to Fairy Tail. And yeah, Erza is the resident harsh, [[The Stoic|stoic]] [[Badass]] of ''Fairy Tail''.

* Yusuke Urameshi of ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho (Manga)|Yu Yu Hakusho]]'' notes that while he has trouble with just about everyone else due to his bad reputation, he at least can still make children happy. And of course, the whole story begins with him [[Heroic Sacrifice|diving in front of a car to save a child.]]

* Whether it's because he's a father or because [[Adult Child|he's prone to acting like one himself]], ''[[Tiger and Bunny (Anime)|Tiger and Bunny]]'''s Kotetsu T. Kaburagi is rather fond of children. Of course, whether children are actually fond of ''him'' [[Butt Monkey|is a different matter]].

* Mentioned in ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (Literaturenovel)|Please, Jeeves]]''. Bertie comments in the narration, "It's one of my personal virtues that children attach themselves to me. It's inevitable." (The scene in question involved a little girl grabbing his hand in the middle of a crowded fair and sticking by his side, telling him about her new doll. Other than this, it's an [[Informed Attribute]], since [[Bratty Half -Pint|other kids]] in both the manga and the original stories almost universally hate him, and the original story even mentioned that the girl only attached herself to Bertie because she figured he'd be as good as anyone.)

* ''[[Hellboy (Comic Bookcomics)|Hellboy]]'' loves babies and [[Cute Kitten|kittens.]]

** This is exaggerated ridiculously in [[Hellboy (Filmfilm)|the movies]], but he's basically just a squishy nice guy. Who doesn't see many children and is adorably awkward when he does interact with them; usually in the order of 'hey, kid, don't do that. You'll die.'

* Rorschach, from ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'', is a clear-cut [[Anti -Hero]] and also one of the main prototypes of the [[Nineties Anti -Hero]]. Nevertheless, he's got a soft spot for kids. For example, he'll call his former landlady a whore to her face... but not in front of her children. (Though ''that's'' tied up with his own childhood trauma and the assholes who called him 'whoreson'--and the fact that he hadn't realized until that moment that, unlike his mother, she actually ''cared'' about them.) Indeed his [[Start of Darkness]] was basically a [[Freudian Excuse]] combined with what he did when he realized just what one perp had done to the kidnapped little girl he was trying to rescue.

** And of course, there's [[Robin (Comic Book)|Robin]], who Bats apparently adopted solely because he needed it.

** He shows similar tendencies in the graphic novel ''[[The Dark Knight Returns (Comic Book)|The Dark Knight Returns]]'' and several other sources; most likely due to his orphaning at such a young age. He does NOT like people to mess with kids.

** Subverted for most of ''[[All -Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder]]'', but then he got better.

** In the ''[[Batman: No MansMan's Land (Comic Book)|No Man's Land]]'' novel, he tells Gordon that he won't interfere if {{spoiler|he kills Joker. Joker just shot Sarah, Gordon's wife. However, he also just kidnapped and violently endangered 30-something babies}}.

** In that same arc, Poison Ivy also fulfills this trope. She takes over the Gotham City Park, but winds up [[Pet the Dog|making it a refuge for all the children orphaned in the earthquake]]. When the police try to force her out, she {{spoiler|[[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|eventually turns herself in so that one of the children can get urgently needed medical attention]]}}.

** ''[[Young Justice (Comic Bookcomics)|Young Justice]]'' actually makes a plot point out of the fact that [[Batman]] is, in fact, better than [[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]] when it comes to working with kids.

** Seriously, Batman practically runs an orphanage with the way he keeps taking on kids under his wing. The list includes: [[Big Brother Mentor|Dick/Robin/Nightwing]], [[Handicapped Badass|Barbara/Batgirl/Oracle]], [[Middle Child Syndrome|Jason/Robin II]], [[Badass Bookworm|Tim/Robin III/Red Robin]], [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold|Damian/Robin IV]], [[Technical Pacifist|Cassandra/Batgirl II]], and [[Plucky Girl|Stephanie/Spoiler/Robin IV/Batgirl III]]. Even in the world of [[The Dark Knight Returns]], where [[It Got Worse]] with Dick, Batman still has Carrie Kelly as Robin "DKR."

* Spider Jerusalem from ''[[Transmetropolitan]]'' seems to hate children slightly less than he does the rest of humanity. At one of his more annoyed moments, he ends up accosted by a noisy (and overly cheerful) street musician and his son -- Spiderson—Spider performs a [[Groin Attack]] on the musician and does some rather unpleasant things to his instrument, and then tips the kid with hundred dollars before storming off.

* [[Kid Hero|Kid heroes]], like all three Robins, think [[Superman (Comic Book)|Superman]] is extremely cool because he never talks down to them the way many heroes do to their grown-up pals' "sidekicks".

** [[Pre Crisis]] (and in a few of the myriad of [[Post -Crisis]] retcons), it might stem from Superman having once been a [[Kid Hero]] himself (as [[Superboy]]).

* [[Wolverine]] in the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' comics has a tendency to take on a mentor/big-brother role to the younger members of the team. Starting with Kitty Pryde, then Jubilee, and currently [[X-23]] and Armour, as well as a Team up with the [[Power Pack]] and 5 year old Katie Power. All his mentoring storylines were combined into Rogue for ''[[X Men 1 (Film)|X -Men 1]]''.

* In one scene of ''[[Hard Boiled (Filmfilm)|Hard Boiled]]'', the main character holds a baby in one arm and sings a lullaby to him while gunning down incoming Mooks with his other arm.

* Smith from ''[[Shoot 'Em Up (Filmfilm)|Shoot Em Up]]'' seems to have a soft spot for infants. Why else would he go through all that trouble for one baby?

* In ''[[Tropic Thunder (Film)|Tropic Thunder]]'', one of the film's fake trailers is a sci-fi action film titled ''Scorcher VI'' with Ben Stiller. In one scene of the "trailer," he is seen holding a baby in one arm and a BFG in the other. In another scene, he is holding a pair of BFGs and has a pair of babies strapped to his chest.

* Timon and Pumbaa from ''[[The Lion King (Disney)|The Lion King]]'', but especially the latter.

* Although one couldn't exactly call him a "friend" to children, Don Rafael Montero from ''[[The Mask of Zorro]]'' [[Wouldn't Hurt a Child|demands that all the children be removed from the courtyard where he's ordered several executions to take place]].

* Interestingly from ''[[The Dark Knight Saga (Film)|The Dark Knight Saga]]'', it's usually the kids who aren't afraid of Batman, as most of them admire him and see him as a hero figure, unlike most of the adults. And Batman doesn't seem to mind them, since in the first movie, he gave one of his gadgets to a kid and in the second one, he apologetically bowed his head in grief towards {{spoiler|Gordon's son}} when {{spoiler|Gordon was supposedly killed}}.

{{quote| '''Action Fighter:''' I once knew a man who was good with children. They called him... Children Man! Do you know him?<br />

'''Gun Man:''' Yes, I kneecapped him and killed him<br />

* In ''[[L Change the World (Film)|L: Change the World]]'', L, normally an antisocial loner, spends the last week of his life taking care of two children and trying to create an antidote for the virus one of them carries. [[Pet the Dog]] moments abound.

* [[Mr. MagoriumsMagorium's Wonder Emporium (Film)|Mr. Magorium]]. Of course, when you're a magical old man with an equally magical toy store that's [[Doctor Who (TV)|bigger on the inside]], that's to be expected.

* Hagrid of ''[[Harry Potter (Literaturenovel)|Harry Potter]]'', of course. Sure, the fact that he's a [[Nightmare Fetishist]] [[Fluffy Tamer]] tends to creep people out, but he is rather fond of children.

** Put another way: you know Hagrid would never try to hurt your kid. But you can't exactly blame people for wondering if he's ''really'' the best person to be teaching a class on magical zoology.

* The hero of [[Richard Adams]]' novel ''[[Shardik (Literature)|Shardik]]'' is nicknamed "Plays With the Children" by the other members of his tribe.

* ''[[Discworld (Literature)|Discworld]]'''s Nanny Ogg loves children and they (for the most part) love her, without much effort or forethought on her part. Much to the consternation of Magrat, who puts in effort (and research) to be a [[Friend to All Children]], but sucked at it. (At least until she had one of her own.)

* When [[Trickster|Mat]] from ''[[The Wheel of Time (Literature)|The Wheel of Time]]'' is infected by a [[Hate Plague]] [[The Chosen One|Rand]] notices that the only people that Mat was not suspicious of were children. Later on after he gets cured, Mat saves Olver from getting beaten and tries to hire a local innkeeper to take care of him. Mat ends up all but adopting Olver after he follows him.

* Fitz Kreiner, from the ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' [[Doctor Who Expanded Universe|Expanded Universe]] [[Eighth Doctor Adventures]]: [[Deadpan Snarker]], chain-smokes, has [[Perma -Stubble]], is a [[Lovable Sex Maniac]] or at best a [[Chivalrous Pervert]]... you know the type. Also, in one story, happily gets a job working at a home for kids who mostly have special needs (or are at least about as screwed-up [[Broken Hero|as he is]]), and in another puts up with a [[Nightmare Fuel StationattendantStation Attendant|very]] [[Creepy Child]] [[Waif Prophet]] type following him around and talking endlessly. He's far more avuncular than paternal, though, and is ''horrified'' when a [[Delivery Stork]] nearly brings him a baby... but it's just carrying a bomb. [[Skewed Priorities|Whew. Crisis averted.]]

* In [[Kenneth Grahame]]'s ''[[The Wind in Thethe Willows]]'', Badger is this. We see him giving shelter to two schoolchildren caught in a story when he first appears, and at the end, his [[Shrouded in Myth]] reputation that lets mothers threaten their children with him is unjust.

* [[Red Baron|"Gentleman"]] Johnny Marcone of ''[[The Dresden Files (Literature)|The Dresden Files]]'' is a ruthless and highly ambitious [[The Mafia|mafia boss]], who is usually all about business and profit. Harm a child on his turf, however, and he will spare no expense in tracking you down and murdering you until you ''die''. And you should count yourself lucky if he stops there.

{{quote| Wizards are subtle and quick to anger. Fuck subtle *blows open door*}}

* Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, the protagonist of [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]]'s book ''[[The Idiot (Literature)|The Idiot]]'', has this trait.

* A subversion occurs in ''[[Otherland]]''. The Other, the apparently [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot|rogue AI]] operating system of the titular network, has a remarkable affinity for children and seeks them out wherever its sphere of influence touches on the wider 'Net. Unfortunately, its idea of "[[And Call Him George|playing with]]" these children has the nasty, inadvertent consequence of [[Mind Rape|Mind Raping]] them into comas.

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Lieutenant Panga]] in ''[[Someone ElsesElse's War (Literature)|Someone Elses War]]''.

* [[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (TV)|Mister Rogers Neighborhood]] has to be the Most Triumphant Example. The world will always remember him as the kindest person who ever lived.

* Dean Winchester from ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' seems to like children, at least young boys (and ''no'', '''not''' like that).

** Ironically, in the third episode, Dean uses the "I think kids are great" as a cheesy chat-up line to a MILF, and Sam calls him out on it, pointing out "name three kids you even know." However, for the rest of the series, including that episode, Dean does indeed get on well with children.

* B.A. Baracus from ''[[The A-Team (TV)|The A-Team]]''. In the army he earned his nickname of "Bad Attitude" by striking officers, he's punched his own teammates in the mouth, he's an all around grumpy badass...and he's great with kids.

* In ''[[The Twilight Zone (TV)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "One For The Angels", pitchman Lew Bookman is well loved by children and a truly compassionate man. He tries to escape Death, but when he learns that a child will die in his place, he [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifices his life to save the kid]] by {{spoiler|distracting Death with the "ultimate pitch, one for the angels" (hence the episode's title) until his deadline is up. Afterward, Death comforts Bookman with the knowledge that his kindness got him into Heaven.}}

* [[Magnificent Bastard|Ben Linus]] of ''[[Lost (TV)|Lost]]'' seems to have a soft spot for children. Not only did {{spoiler|he spare Rousseau because she had a baby girl in her camp (and went on to be a loving - if [[Knight Templar Parent|scarily over-protective]] - parent)}} but he also {{spoiler|spared Penny's life because she had an infant son on board her boat.}}

* Dr. [[House (TV series)|House]], the champion of [[Loners Are Freaks]], doesn't mind babies. "People don't bug me until they get teeth."

* Doctor Kovac from ''[[ER (TV)|ER]]'' cares deeply for children and gets particularly upset if they are mistreated in any way. He even watches kids' shows, like the Wiggles, to keep up with what kids like and be able to talk to them.

* Richard Hammond on ''[[Top Gear]]'' -- if—if any of the presenters is shown interacting with the local kids, it is probably the Hamster. Known to host children's science shows like ''[[Brainiac: Science Abuse]]'' and his own ''Richard Hammond's [[Blast Lab]]''.

* The Doctor of ''[[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]]'' has a lot of this. When explaining to Amy that they must be observers only, and that in all his travels, [[Blatant Lies|it is the one rule he always sticks to]], he is watching a crying child on the monitor. He abruptly exits the TARDIS to go and help. This prompts the remark from Amy:

{{quote| '''Amy:''' Is that how it is, Doctor? You never interfere in the affairs of people or planets. Unless there's a children crying.<br />

** This applies mainly to [[The Nth Doctor|the Eleventh Doctor]], who seems to be something of a kid magnet.

** In the episode "[[Doctor Who (TV)/Recap/S18 E3/E03 Full Circle|Full Circle]]" the Doctor frightens off the marsh-man child and observes it's odd, he's usually good with children. Later, he would have managed to calm it {{spoiler|if he hadn't been [[Tap Onon the Head|knocked out]].}}

* Patrick Jane from ''[[The Mentalist (TV)|The Mentalist]]'' loves kids, particularly little girls due to the loss of his daughter, and will abandon everything else when they're around. His partner Lisbon has a soft spot, too.

* ''[[NCIS (TV)|NCIS]]'''s own [[Memetic Badass|Leroy]] [[Heroes Want Redheads|Jethro]] [[Always Gets His Man|Gibbs]]. Probably due to the fact that, like Patrick Jane, his own daughter died young.

* Two notable examples from ''[[Leverage (TV)|Leverage]]'':

** [[Phantom Thief|Parker]] abandons a job to spring a slew of orphans from a nightmarish orphanage, even going so far as to [[Leverage (TV)/Awesome|put herself physically between them and several guys with automatic weapons]]. She takes an apprentice car thief under her wing in one episode, and is seen as early as the third episode of the series teaching a little girl how to pick a lock.

** [[Lightning Bruiser|Eliot]] also abandons a job in one episode to champion an abused child in a hospital, [[Tranquil Fury|almost throwing]] [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|the kid's father]] [[Papa Wolf|down several flights of stairs]]. He arranges for the team to donate skads of money to mistreated children, mentors an underage miner, and drops character in a con to [[Omniglot|help an Iranian girl]] [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|find her family in an airport.]] He even turns out to have a knack for teaching kids, as shown in an episode where members of the team pose as private school instructors. When he receives a 911 call for a domestic disturbance while disguised as a Boston police officer, he insists on going to the scene on the chance that there are children present.

* Jean-Luc Picard from ''[[Star Trek: theThe Next Generation]]'' is a pragmatic aversion. He's not that fond of kids, but that's only because he's a professional and children are too unpredictable and uncontrollable for him.

** ''[[Kamen Rider Amazon]]'' was this long before Yuusuke.

* Teal'c of ''[[Stargate SG-1 (TV)|Stargate SG-1]]''. Whenever a child is around, he turns into the [[Gentle Giant]]. It helps that he has the patience of a mountain.

* Clark Kent of ''[[Smallville (TV)|Smallville]]''.

* Megan Calvet {{spoiler|Draper}} in ''[[Mad Men (TV)|Mad Men]]''. When Sally Draper ran away to visit her dad's office and tried to run away when forced to return home, the only sympathetic adult was Megan. She later takes care of Sally and her brothers during their trip to Disneyland. Contrast this with Faye Miller, Don's girlfriend, who was incredibly awkward around children and talked to Sally as if she were an infant. In a show full of bad mothers, Megan at times seems like the only one who likes kids {{spoiler|which is one of the reasons why she's Don's second wife instead of Faye}}.

* Percival's [[Establishing Character Moment]] in season 4 of ''[[Merlin (TV series)|Merlin]]'' is endangering his own life to save three frightened children by carrying them all to safety in his arms.

* Eric Matthews on ''[[Boy Meets World (TV)|Boy Meets World]]'' relates well with children due to being an [[Adult Child]]. His most serious girlfriend on the show was a young single mom whose kid he bonds with, and in another season he forms a relationship with a kid from an orphanage.

* [[Jesus]] was both [[The Messiah]] (he's the [[Trope Namer]], even) and a [[Friend to All Living Things]], but he definitely qualifies for this trope, too. (He did preach that [[Children Are Innocent]], after all.)

* ''[[Jerusalem (Theatretheatre)|Jerusalem]]'' gives us Johnny Byron, a former daredevil and local legend who lives in a trailer in the local woods, is seen as a sort of modern-day Pied Piper. Local teenagers spend most of their free time hanging out at his place, getting drunk, doing drugs, and generally having fun; he regales them with mad stories of his former exploits and supposed encounters with real-life giants. This is portrayed as being a sort of tradition, with several characters in their late twenties and early thirties discussing how they used to be the kids who hung out at Johnny's place. Subverted in two ways, though: firstly in that Johnny's sheltering of the kids is not always seen as wholesome (naturally); and secondly in that {{spoiler|it is revealed the kids don't really care about him as a person, and mock him behind his back for being a crazy loner unable to pay taxes.}}

* Jade of ''[[Beyond Good and& Evil (Videovideo Gamegame)|Beyond Good and Evil]]'' takes in war orphans and cares for them, despite being occasionally frightfully low on cash. She's even extra-kind and nice to the kids in the city who aren't staying with her. Threatening her kids is a good way to get [[Mama Bear]]'d.

* ''[[Fallout 3 (Video Game)|Fallout 3]]'' lets an adult be one with the Child at Heart Perk... except for the fact that [[Power Perversion Potential|it can be used]] to make [[Video Game Cruelty Potential|kidnapping a child for slavers easier]].

* In the ''[[Metroid (Video Game)|Metroid]]'' manga, Samus is very friendly with children, and even manages to strike up a small friendship with a little girl she rescues from a raid.

** This seems to be a confirmation of elements from the time ''Super Metroid'' was released, where Samus was typically portrayed as being quite passionate about the infant Metroid, treating it like her own offspring, unleashing the bowels of [[Mama Bear]] after it was destroyed, and even entering a state of deep sorrow after she'd cooled down. This hovered around various fiction, including ''[[Nintendo Power (Magazine)|Nintendo Power]]'' comics and Manga. In other words, the Manga serves to confirm that when Samus says she kills to protect others, '''she really really means it'''

* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Video Game)|The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess]],'' Link is friends with all the children of his village, and happily looks after them and plays with them. Not surprisingly, when they get into trouble, he goes [[Papa Wolf]] ''quick.'' And '''[[Our Werewolves Are Different|literally.]]'''

* Milla Vodello in ''[[Psychonauts (Video Game)|Psychonauts]]'' loves working with children, and when you use Clairvoyance on her, she explicitly sees [[Kid Hero]] Raz as a sweet little baby to look after. Her history even shows that she used to work at an [[Orphanage of Love]]. But, uh... [[Nightmare Fuel|don't ask why she doesn't anymore]].

** Though, in case you ''are'' wondering: {{spoiler|There was a fire one day while Milla was out getting the groceries, and it's implied nobody else in the building survived}}. [[Word of God|She's mostly over it now]], but there are still a few "Nightmares" locked away in her [[Journey to Thethe Center of Thethe Mind|Mental World]].

* Rozalin's first [[Pet the Dog]] moment in ''[[Disgaea 2 Cursed Memories (Video Game)|Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories]]'' comes when she treats the kids really well. Barring her other persona, being nice to kids seems to be a consistent part of her character.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_EbLnrHhXk Zangief] has developed into this during the ''[[Street Fighter IV (Video Game)|Street Fighter IV]]'' series. He even cites their cheers and adoration as the reason why he continues wrestling.

* Big Boss in ''[[Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]]'' takes in war orphans and raises them as his own, although it's twisted at the end when he reveals he's training them into soldiers to perpetuate war in the future. [[Retcon|At least that was the excuse he gave at the time]].

* The poor children are most of why Allegretto steals bread at the beginning of ''[[Eternal Sonata (Video Game)|Eternal Sonata]]'', and why he embarks on his quest. One part of the game involves him navigating a puzzle graveyard and beating up a large beast... so a little girl can have water for her flower.

* Aerith Gainsborough could count for this in ''[[Final Fantasy VII (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VII]]''; the original game has her trade herself for the safety of a little girl she barely knows and puts her on friendly terms with the slum children, who looked after her flowers in her absence; ''Crisis Core'' and ''Advent Children'' also show her having a soft spot for children.

* ''[[Final Fantasy VI (Video Game)|Final Fantasy VI]]'' has an even better example in Terra Branford, who takes care of a village full of orphans and turns into a [[Mama Bear]] whenever any of them are in danger.

* Kratos from ''[[God of War (Video Gameseries)|God of War]]''. They may have been his daughter, his kid brother, and a little girl that reminded him of his daughter, but they remain the only children depicted in the games. More Friend To All Children Who Appear In The Series. His [[Papa Wolf]] nature is one of his very few redeeming traits.

* In ''[[Blaz Blue (Video Game)|Blaz BlueBlazBlue]]'' Litchi Faye-Ling is very good when it comes to dealing with children, she usually comes around to the Kaka clan to kindheartedly teach and play with the Kaka kittens and her child-assistant Linhua looked up to her greatly and she returned the favor. She's also quick to befriend and hug Ronin-Gai children despite that their boss just harassed her. She's also incredibly fond to Carl Clover, who was virtually unknown to her and would even give her life to help him. She doesn't even hold a grudge when a bratty little girl like Platinum went bonkers on her [[A -Cup Angst|just due to breast size difference]] and still finds herself comforting her. In the CT Arcade Mode, she mistook Rachel Alucard as a lost child and sweetly asked to escort her to her mother... {{spoiler|This gets slightly subverted in ''Continuum Shift'' after her [[Face Heel Turn]]. Once she learned [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|what kind of creature]] Rachel is and that she's an enemy, she drops her kindness and opts a more antagonistic manner (though not as over the top). However, she went back into [[Friend to All Children]] mode when she met a distraught Carl (still post-[[Face Heel Turn]]) and even offered him a [[Cooldown Hug]] in her [[Marshmallow Hell]].}}

* Daisy [[Fragile Speedster|the Thief]] and Asaello [[The Archer|the Bow Fighter]] from ''[[Fire Emblem Jugdral (Video Game)|Fire Emblem Jugdral]]''. Patty and Faval are implied to be this too. (Makes sense since Daisy and Asaello are they [[Expy|expies]] in the first place.)

* [[Combat Medic|Rutee]] [[Gold Digger|Katrea]] from ''[[Tales of Destiny (Video Game)|Tales of Destiny]]'' is [[Only in It For Thethe Money|obsessed with money]], but that's only because she's [[Just Like Robin Hood|trying to raise enough money to save the orphanage she grew up in and prevent the orphans from ending up on the streets]].

* Cheria Baines from ''[[Tales of Graces (Video Game)|Tales of Graces]]'' is implied to be this. In a skit in ''Tales of Graces f'', Asbel mentions that Cheria likes taking care of children.

* In ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Video Game)|Skyrim]]'' it's impossible for the player to harm children. Also, you can play games like tag and hide & seek with the children that you meet. {{spoiler|Even the dead ones.}}

* Oddly enough, some of the mercenaries in ''[[Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)|Team Fortress 2]]'' appear to be this, as shown by the comics on the official website. Soldier takes kids trick-or-treating, Scout treats kids like little brothers (understandable, considering he's the youngest of eight brothers), and they both get very defensive when they're on mall santa duty and a kid gets kidnapped. Spy sees the kid's fear and teaches the kid how to stab the kidnapper in the jugular and free himself, and consoles the kid afterwards, asking him if he was scared, and even giving him a piggyback ride. Even Heavy shows this when he gets angry and calls a kid presumptuous and fat for wanting him to spend his hard-earned money on Halloween candy, and then apologizes profusely when the kid starts to cry, taking back the "fat" comment when he realizes that he hates being called that himself. [[Crowning Moment of Funny|He then proceeds to give the kid $7,000 to make up for it.]]

* Von Pinn from ''[[Girl Genius (Webcomic)|Girl Genius]]'' isn't necessarily fond of kids, but as a completely frightening construct designed to protect her charges, she cannot bring herself to harm children, even if they stand in the way of her duty. When Bangladesh Dupree tries to get around this and kills the girl standing in the way of their pursuit of Agatha, Von Pinn nearly takes her head off.

* Quentyn of ''[[Tales of the Questor (Webcomic)|Tales of the Questor]]'' is particularly sweet and tolerant of a very young child who pulls on his whiskers and twists his tail, thinking him a cat. (he quickly makes her a harmless toy that occupies her hands)

* Cale in ''[[Looking for Group (Webcomic)|Looking for Group]]'' used to be this, up to a particular [[Sadistic Choice]]. And although no more a friend to children than any other living being, Richard's rare, curse-breaking [[Pet the Dog]] was a self-sacrifice in defense of a child.

* In [[Manly Guys Doing Manly Things]], one of the Big Daddies from ''[[BioshockBioShock (Video Gameseries)|Bioshock]]'' is presented [http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/81 this way.] It's rather adorable, up to a point.

* In ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (Webcomicwebcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]'', Red. She has a [[Slasher Smile]] and is [[Ax Crazy]], but her reaction to a woman being burned to death for killing children is "[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/03-11.html Not cruel enough.]" Later, when they track down the actual killer, she disposes of her.

* [[Doctor Steel (Music)|Doctor Steel]] loves children (he's a toymaker, after all). He even created a theme song for a fictional kid's show called "Smokey, The Kid-Loving Trout" (''Smokey's Theme''), and his episodes of ''The Dr. Steel Show'' are modeled after childrens' television shows.

* [[The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Critic]] has pretty much declared himself the defender of all children. It's even been implied that he's babysat kids a couple of times.

** Katrika (also a naga) is far more predatory than Fiona, but children and their families are completely off the menu. [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|She'll even comfort children who've lost their families to predators.]]

* In ''[[DoctorDr. HorriblesHorrible's Sing -Along Blog (Web Video)|Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog]]'', one of Dr. Horrible's reasons for refusing to fight a self-proclaimed nemesis in the City Park is that "there's kids in that park." Also, when told he has to kill someone to enter the Evil League of Evil, he's offered the suggestion of a child who is destined to become President of the United States. Dr. Horrible replies that he's not going to kill a kid.

* Harley Morenstein, of [[EPICMEALTIME (Web Video)|EPICMEALTIME]] fame, draws the line at [[Black Comedy|dead baby comedy]] and gives apple pies to kids when he was shopping at [[McDonaldsMcDonald's]].

* Modo from ''[[Biker Mice From Mars (Animation)|Biker Mice From Mars]]'' is extremely fond of children. {{spoiler|This is used against him in the [[Ten -Minute Retirement]] episode "Modo Hangs It Up".}}

* A [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] in the ''[[Phantom 2040 (Animation)|Phantom 2040]]'' series: Hubert Graft, a monstrous cyborg who hates the heroes, stops the fight in one episode when a kid gets in danger. [[Pet the Dog|He rescues the child]], as the heroes look in confusion. "This war should not include children."

* Kronk from ''[[The EmperorsEmperor's New Groove (Disney)|The Emperors New Groove]]''. This could probably be partially attributed to the fact that he's really a child at both heart ''and'' [[Dumb Muscle|mind]].

* [[Sir Swearsalot|Fowlmouth]], a side character in ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures (Animation)|Tiny Toon Adventures]]'', swears a [bleeped out] blue streak in every known context ''except'' in the presence of babies. He believes that swearing in front of babies is crude.

* [[Sergeant Rock|Sergeant Rita Torres]] in ''[[Exo Squad (Animation)|Exo Squad]]'' shows her tender side when interacting with the Martian Exoscouts (who were abandoned on Mars since the war outbreak) in the second season.

* ''[[Batman: theThe Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'': Particularly in an early episode, "The Underdwellers," near the very end. Bats is threatening the episode's villain, the Sewer King, who "took in" a large number of abandoned and orphaned children, only to abuse them and teach them to steal:

{{quote| '''Batman''': "[[Thou Shalt Not Kill|I don't pass sentence]]. That's for the courts. But THIS time... THIS time, I am sorely tempted to [[Never Say "Die"|do the job]] MYSELF."}}

* This continues to the ''[[Justice League (Animationanimation)|Justice League]]'', where Batman comforts {{spoiler|Ace, who was dying of a terminal disease and only had hours to live.}} She had asked him to stay by her side because she was scared. [[Tear Jerker|And ]] [[Justice League (Filmanimation)/Heartwarming|he did.]]

* Zeta in ''[[The Zeta Project (Animation)|The Zeta Project]]'' pretty much IS this trope. When he saw a child learn to ride a bike and the joy it brought her mother, he knew he could never kill anyone because life was precious. Hence his peaceful and nonviolent nature.

* As mentioned above, ''[[Young Justice (Animationanimation)|Young Justice]]'' has Batman being more of [[Team Dad|a fatherly figure]] to Robin and the rest of the team than Superman.

* In ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'', Fluttershy is this as part of her being a [[Friend to All Living Things]]. In fact, trying to harm young ponies is a good way to press her [[Berserk Button]], as the unlucky cockatrice from ''Stare Master'' [[Death Glare|found out]].

** Pinkie Pie also counts; she's acted as a [[Cool Big Sis]] for Spike and Apple-Bloom, chaperoned the local kids on "[[You Mean "Xmas"|Nightmare Night]]", adores Mr. & Mrs. Cake's infant twins Pound & Pumpkin Cake and frequently plays with & watches over them, and during her [[Image Song]] "Smile, Smile, Smile" she goes out of her way to make kids happy.

* In the ''[[Kung Fu Panda (Animation)|Kung Fu Panda]]'' franchise, especially the non-film productions, Po prides himself as being loved by children. As such, he proves to be an excellent teacher. In an episode of ''[[Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (Animation)|Kung Fu Panda Legends of Awesomeness]]'', he even makes a despicable [[Royal Brat]] change her ways, even before discovering the horrific reason why she feels she must drive everyone away.

* [[King of the Hill (Animation)|Hank Hill]] is shown to be really good with kids in several episodes, including one where he becomes the substitute shop teacher at his son's school and is very popular with the kids because his teaching style is informal, educational, and fun. In another he stops some kids from getting into a makeout party by using old-school party games, and they end up legitimately having fun, causing the neighbors' wives to remark that his reliability and skill with kids are very attractive traits.

* WWII Russian soldier example: the German army pushed the Russian defenders back to the river in Stalingrad; in a furious battle, the Russians surrounded the city, cut off the Germans from their supply lines and started to annihilate them room-by-room and building-by-building. Some children who were kept as servants by the German army were trapped in such a building, and called out in fear. The Russian soldiers who found them immediately formed a defense perimeter and escorted them to safety. Some of the children were adopted into the unit because they were orphans. Years later, one child related, "The one who found us shouted, 'Lads, there are kids in here!' I had never seen men cry."

* [[Michael Jackson (Music)|Michael Jackson]] tried to give himself this image, possibly due to [[Freudian Excuse|not really having a childhood himself]]. It famously backfired on him and, until very recently, he was more known for the various (and never convicted) pedophilia scandals than his music.

* Fred Rogers, a man who devoted his life to children, and helped raise an entire generation of them via ''[[Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (TV)|Mister Rogers Neighborhood]]''.

* [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Gein:Ed Gein|Ed Gein]], of all people. He was proven to be behind some truly disgusting acts (and suspected of worse), but when it came to kids? Before he was found out and arrested, his neighbors would hire him as a babysitter. He was consistently described as caring and benevolent to the children placed in his care.

* [[Doug Walker (Creator)|Doug Walker]], [[Real Life/Mean Character, Nice Actor/Real Life|in a much less screwed up way than his character of]] [[The Nostalgia Critic (Web Video)|The Nostalgia Critic]]. You only have to put on a random VLog or commentary to see how much he cares about children and hates movies that treat them like idiots.