Dog gets over-excited around children

Question
I have a 4-year-old, female, spayed, 50 lb pit bull who is the sweetest, friendliest animal I have ever known. She is friendly with all other dogs and humans we have ever encountered. The only behavior problem she has is that if children are around, she gets SO EXCITED, none of the training we have done with her can break through her happy hysteria. She is completely toy and play-motivated and thinks that human children are the most fun thing in the world. Of course, her jumping, whining and pulling just scares the children and their parents. The more we try to control her and the more scared the children get, the more energized she gets. I know she has absolutely no interest in hurting anyone, and has even proved it when my nephew unfortunately tested her. But with her strength and exuberience, even a scratch can be hurtful. And due to her breed, any excited behavior can get her in trouble.

I know I can avoid having her around children while at home, but I can't predict or control every situation she might ever be in. I even tried a pet sedative, but it seemed to have an opposite, and frankly scary, result. Is there any thing I can do to get her under control?

Answer
I would work very hard on training and self-control behaviors (leave it, wait, no jump)and I'd start working at a distance from children, where she is under threshold (not over-the-top excited) Play a game of treating her immediately for looking at the children, with a clicker or a marker word, so when she hears the word, she glances back to you for her treat. If she is uninterested in the treats, you are too close to the kids. As she gets better at looking at kids calmly, you can move a bit closer.  I'd suggest a book called Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt, which has a number of good, scientifically based "games" to help a dog to learn self control and keep the dog from being over-aroused in situations which are difficult for them. You can adapt these (mostly for dogs overstimulated by other dogs) to work with children. Sandy Case MEd CPDT www.positivelycanine.com