JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<div class=widget>
<div class=panel>panel1</div>
<div class=panel>panel2
<div class=widget>
<div class=panel>panel1</div>
<div class=panel>panel2</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
JavaScript
var panels = $("div.widget > .panel");
alert(panels.length); // returns 2
var panels = $("div.widget").children(".panel");
alert(panels.length); // returns 2