A child, by necessity, has blind faith. A child also does not know right from wrong, so how can that be the "model" to strive for? It is more likely that Jesus was not talking about the nature of their faith but about their de facto innocence.
It depends on the age of the child, but it sounds like you are talking about the very very young. From the context Jesus says let them come to me, implying that they are old enough to do so (walk) on their own. In any case, in my opinion part of what Jesus is talking about is that a child-like (as opposed to a childish) faith is one that is unblocked by any agenda or pride that an adult frequently has.
If child-like faith is on one end of a scale, the other end might be an atheist liberal scientist. A child-like faith can accept presented truth even if it cannot explain all there is to explain. Trust of the source is involved. A child will trust a parent about a truth even if he cannot explain it all, and likewise we should trust our Lord. I would add that this is not a blind faith, but a reasoned faith that is simply not the equal of Christ's perfect faith.
Which is two years of age at the latest. So, you are suggesting that unless our faith is just like that of a 2-year-old we are not true believers? Wow.
In any case, in my opinion part of what Jesus is talking about is that a child-like (as opposed to a childish) faith is one that is unblocked by any agenda or pride that an adult frequently has.
Child-like, as in—naïve, gullible and easily persuaded?
A child-like faith can accept presented truth even if it cannot explain all there is to explain
If I were creating a religion, I would want my followers to be child-like, naïve, gullible, uncritical, and capable of believing anything and everything, no matter how bizarre or unreal it may be. A child-like faith can also accept any lie and Ponzi scheme one can think of.