A guarded answer, because children vary and Chows do not
Chow Chows are not reliably good with children, and any honest guide should start there. The breed's core traits, reserve, dignity, a strong sense of personal space, and a guarding instinct, sit uneasily with the way young children naturally behave around dogs. A Chow does not seek out children's company, does not enjoy being petted by small strangers, and will not tolerate sustained pestering. That said, the answer is not a flat no for every child: a Chow raised in a household with older, calm children who have been taught to respect him can be steady, watchful, and quietly devoted to them. The age and behavior of the children decide it.
How a Chow typically reads children
Children are, from a Chow's perspective, unpredictable: they move fast, shriek, fall over, arrive in groups, and reach for faces and fur. A breed that values order and predictability finds that genuinely stressful, and a Chow's stress signals are easy to miss because he does not bounce, bark, or plead; he goes still, turns his head away, shows the whites of his eyes, or gives a hard stare. Children read a still dog as a calm dog and come closer, which is exactly backwards. His famous mane and teddy-bear look make it worse, inviting hugs from children who have no idea the dog in front of them is the least teddy-like of breeds.
The age line that matters
Babies and toddlers should not share a home casually with a Chow. They cannot read signals, cannot follow rules, and explore dogs with their hands at exactly the Chow's face height, while adults cannot supervise every second of every day for years. Visiting young children need management, not introductions: the dog rests behind a gate or in another room, and nobody should feel that is unkind. School-age children and teenagers are a different proposition. A child old enough to let the dog choose every interaction, to never approach him while he rests or eats, and to enjoy a dog's company at a distance can build a real relationship with a Chow who was socialized early.
Rules if a Chow lives with children
The non-negotiables are supervision, separation, and education. No child is ever left alone with the dog, at any age, in any mood. The Chow has a child-free resting place that is enforced absolutely, including when friends visit. Children learn his warning ladder and are praised for backing off, and adults model the same restraint instead of hauling the dog over for cuddles. Any guarding of food, toys, a bed, or a person is addressed immediately with professional help and a veterinary check, not managed by telling the children to be careful around an escalating dog. If the household cannot sustain that level of structure, the kind decision is a different breed.
Keeping every supervisor on the same rules
In homes with children, a Chow is supervised by a rotating cast, parents, grandparents, older siblings, babysitters, and not all of them know his signals or his boundaries unless somebody puts them in writing. A shared, visible record of his handling rules, his resting-place rule, and his daily routine prevents the well-meaning mistake that causes an incident. When a grandparent steps in, KinsLe Family Sharing lets you share your Chow's profile with that family member directly, so they can open his profile themselves rather than relying on a description passed along the family.