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Jeremy,
http://www.blaueishuette.de/

this is a lovelly hut, it´s in Germany but all the same well worth a visit and child friendly

Cheers

Charles

Maybe Coburger hut in the Mieming Range is a good option.

Reaching the hut is not difficult. At the hut the views towards Zugspitze are great and further to the south about 300m above the hut at Gruensteinscharte you can take a look at the main ridge of the alps and the glaciers of Stubai Alps and Oetztal Alps. Close to the hut are two beautiful lakes and a little climbing area. Check out the website of the hut or ask me for more infos...

Cheers Lukas

you could try the Dix hut in the Valais. which has a choice of approaches both about 3-4 hours walk. One option is to start at Le Chargeur dam, a nice walk by the lake then up the moraines to the refuge. The alternative is to start at Arolla, and climb up to the Pas de Chevres. The ladder descent here might be tricky for a child, but there is an alternative just to the north at the Col de Riedmatten. Then an easy walk acrosss a dry glacier to the knoll on which the refuge is situated. You will know what your child is capable of.

JeremyBeauchamp wrote:Has anyone got any suggestions for a good hut in the Swiss Alps or Western Tirol to take my 7-year-old son? I'm looking for the obvious - a shortish walk in, not too much ascent, no glacier-crossing, but maximum excitement value.

Try http://www.sustlihuette.ch/ -- the "Leiterliweg" has some (easy) ladders and takes only 1h 15 min.
http://www.bergsee.ch/ has a lake and lots of climbing opportunities (esp. for children) nearby; ascent takes 1h 30min.

HTH, Martin

Baechlihuette near the Grimsel pass is especially set up for children.