I would highly highly highly recommend a atomic distro. It's going to be a much nicer sandbox for someone starting out, regardless of age.
Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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I was installing Linux myself on extra computers we had at 13-14. Adding to the people saying just give them something like Mint or Ubuntu.
Give them a real desktop, like Fedora. If they enjoy computers, they’ll love it and they’ll be excited to learn how to use it.
I just installed Ubuntu for my 11 year old and they could use it fine. Didn't bother with any parental controls on the device itself (although I can ssh in if needed) because the network deals with filtering at a DNS level.