Is he the one who wish to have a camera? Or is it u who just wish to get him one to get him exposed to photography?
If its the former, you need to know if he's really passionate to learn or if its just an impulse request, which can be quite hard to tell from that age.
If its the latter, spend as you deem fit.
Either way, I would still suggest you get one of the cheaper ones, as you dunno how long this interest will last. And yes, factor in the smartphone factor too. Don't get those really slim n compact ones, it may just slip from his hands. Challenger always have compact models going for <$100.
Image quality among compacts are really similar for the same price point, thou I personally prefer the colour from canon's jpeg algorithm.