Warning: The following article contains spoilers from Nightwing #89, on sale now from DC Comics.
Batman is often viewed in terms of his solo career and self-imposed isolation. His friendship with Superman is often on the rocks, and his relationship with the members of the Bat-Family is often downplayed. However, in Nightwing #89 (by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo, Adriano Lucas, and Wes Abbott), Batman's relationship with his adopted son Dick Grayson is front and center, and appears to be healthy.
Over the years, the focus of many narratives has been on Batman's mistreatment of his adopted children. This criticism is both warranted and informative as to how Batman has weaponized his wards from a young age. However, both the new issue of Nightwing and Batman's appearances in multiple forms of media have made one thing consistently clear: Batman has a soft spot for children.
Losing his parents at a young age was scarring for Batman, but it doesn't appear that he is terribly interested in passing on the trauma. In fact, Nightwing #89 confirms that Batman keeps a cache of lollipops in his utility belt. Furthermore, the comments made by both Dick and Superman imply that the sweet treats are a consistent part of the Dark Knight's equipment.
The depiction of the Caped Crusader in other media confirms this. In Batman: Earth One, for instance, an inexperienced Bruce gives a child who is implied to be in a crime ring a massive amount of cash. This is his first reaction after having failed to protect her from crime in a more substantial way. Even in a completely different continuity, Batman's first thought is about how he can help a child.
In Justice League: Unlimited, Batman defeats the Royal Flush Gang only to be faced with Ace, a young girl who is dying. Even though he had just faced off against her family, the girl asks the Dark Knight Detective to sit with her on a swing, and he does so without hesitation, going out of his way to comfort a girl who was facing her own mortality.
Even his adoption of the Robins shows that his first instinct is to simply help the children he encounters as much as he can. He sees himself in Dick Grayson after the loss of his parents, and fully intends to keep him from going down the same path. He sees a Jason Todd who steals from him as being desperate, and his first thought is to take him in and keep him safe. Even Damian Wayne wasn't looked down upon for being brought up as an assassin, with Bruce instead choosing to act in a way that was best for his estranged son.
For all of the Dark Knight's faults, he has no lack of love for children. Having experienced harshness in his early years, his first reaction is consistently to comfort the children he comes across in any way that he can. Ultimately, Batman has very few weaknesses, but one of them just happens to be children.