Affection is not the question
Irish Setters are, by temperament, very good with children. This is an affectionate, good-natured breed with little guarding instinct and a genuine appetite for the noise, games and constant company that children provide. A Setter will follow children around the garden, join invented adventures, endure fancy-dress indignities with a wagging tail and position itself at the heart of family life. Older children in particular gain a devoted, energetic playmate who is always ready for another round of whatever game is on offer, and many Setters seem to reserve a special softness for the youngest members of their household once they have learned to be careful.
Size and enthusiasm are the management points
The caution with this pairing is physical, not temperamental. A young Irish Setter is a tall, strong, joyful dog who greets the world at speed, and a toddler can be knocked flat by a happy turn, a sweeping tail at face height or a leap of welcome that was aimed at an adult. That risk peaks during the Setter's own long adolescence, when it is nearly full size but still short on self-control. Sensible households manage it rather than worry about it: dog and small child together only when an adult is present, greeting games kept calm, and the dog taught a reliable settle on a mat while children play nearby at full volume.
Teach children their side of the bargain too — no riding, no ear-pulling, no disturbing the dog while it eats or sleeps — and give the Setter a child-free retreat it can choose. A dog who can leave is a dog who stays patient.
Why older children get the best of this breed
School-age and older children unlock what Setters do best. They can throw a ball safely, join training and actually teach cues, help with brushing the feathered coat, and keep up on the long walks this breed needs. In return they get responsibility with real feedback: a Setter who is walked, trained and played with by a child bonds visibly to that child, and the relationship teaches consistency better than any lecture, because the dog responds to what the child actually does each day.
On family outings, plan for the dog's enthusiasm at picnics, ball games and open car doors, with a lead anchored and a child whose one job is watching the Setter while adults set up.
For families with babies or toddlers now but older children soon, timing matters. Bringing home a bouncy Setter puppy and a newborn in the same season doubles two full-time jobs; waiting until the youngest child is steadier often makes the same pairing a success instead of a strain.
Making the rules stick across the household
Consistency protects this pairing more than any single training session. If one adult allows jumping-up greetings and another punishes them, the dog stays confused and the smallest person in the house pays for it. Agree the greeting rule, the feeding spots and the supervision standard once, and hold them.
KinsLe's Family Sharing supports that shared approach by letting you give the relatives you pick — parents and older children among them — access to your Irish Setter's profile, so the family in the dog's daily life holds that access directly.