Negan lives by a moral code that forbids the killing of innocent people especially children. He shows reluctance to kill Carl, even when Carl has killed Saviors. Negan tells Brandon in "What It Always Is" that he has never killed a child and never will. Negan was shown to bond with young Milo, mentoring the boy and planning to take Milo and his mother Amelia to Hilltop for their own safety, though he asked Milo not to tell anyone that it was Negan who did it. When Brandon murdered Milo, Negan flew into a rage and killed the young man for what he did. When Daryl tells Negan that a bunch of children almost died at Hilltop because of him, Negan is visibly upset to hear it. Negan later tells Daryl that one of the things that pushed him over the edge to kill Alpha was that she was targeting innocent people and children. Negan outright states to Daryl his belief that you never harm a child no matter what. There is however contradiction to Negan's claim of not harming children as in the past he was going to kill Carl as a last attempt to break Rick into submission. This contradiction can be seen as a change from what Negan was willing to do before as to opposed to now.