I would look for one with speed control. I have a 4 1/2 year old that it wanting to sew. :-) Copying mommy. I love that the brother I just bought has speed control and push button start. Its nice to set the max speed so she can focus on the fabric. (she is sitting on my lap with my hands right their). I got my own machine about that age. I would of course ask her parents but I would get a good basic machine. You don't need fancy to start but you want something that will feed thread nicely so you can work on the sewing and not fighting with a machine.