From the sounds of it she hasn't been exposed to ball pythons. Most of the people I know are afraid of snakes, but once they meet my baby male they all sort of calm down, seeing how gentle and not psycho-I'm-gonna-kill-you he is. I'd say let her meet one before she forms too concrete of an opinion.

As far as ball pythons with kids, a ball python couldn't kill a child, even if it wanted to. Snakes aren't dumb, and they aren't going to risk their well-being to kill something that they can't even eat. As long as the child is well-educated on the do's and dont's of handling snakes I would say that the risk of even a bite is small.

I babysit my cousins every other day, and they're 5 and 7 years old. Sometimes I'll let them pet my baby, and the seven year old can hold him for a little while, but I still don't recommend leaving a kid alone with a ball python because kids can get spooked and drop or harm the snake by accident. It's just like when you get a new dog: you don't leave the kid alone around it, but it's all very safe as long as you watch to make sure things don't take a wrong turn.