A N150 has about twice the CPU performance, hardware video decoding that isn't crippled, and much more software built for its architecture among other things.
They used to do an good-to-adequate job of linux support, but nowadays they seem rubbish at it. Nobody wants to be stuck on a downstream kernel full of cobbled-together device support that's too poorly-written to upstream.
Less software is good - it makes kludging up your own more appealing, and there's a guide to getting started with that right there in the manual.
(Or you could try plugging a goggle-mounted display into it and using it as your personal cyberdeck.)
Maybe get ITX-Llama and let parent and kid be tied to all the same platform? Have something common to discuss, something common to play. And MiniMig or Apollo A600 may do the trick. CheckMate Retro IPS display. It is past, but great past. Alive in our souls.
This is a very good question. The Pi 500+ is a beautiful product, but when compared in terms of price/value to the NUC and various other mini PCs, its value proposition is questionable.
Perhaps the target group are enthusiasts who had 8/16-bit "all-in-one" computers like Commodore64, Amiga, Atari, ZX Spectrum, Acorn etc., in their younger years and now want to buy something similar (non-x86) for themselves or force it on their kids. :)
e.g. https://www.minix.com.hk/products/minix-z150-0db-fanless-min...
The ones with fans tend to be cheaper and have better sustained performance though.