The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word MOO-COW
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
O
O
-
C
O
W
More clues leading to the result MOO-COW
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "child’s animal" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case child’s animal = moo-cow.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MOO-COW mean?
MOO-COW noun- A cow.