Any old laptop you have laying around would do just fine and those are basically "free". It has a trackpad, keyboard, screen and speakers built-in, what more would you need. Only thing I'm worried about with laptops is the kids shutting the lid with a pen on the keyboard, breaking the screen. But so far they seem to manage that fine.

> Any old laptop you have laying around would do just fine and those are basically "free".

Not everyone has spare, fully functional laptops lying around “free”.

By the time your kid is 10 most people would have already bought a new computer 2 times. He can just use one of your old PCs. You don't need that much performance to learn.

> By the time your kid is 10 most people would have already bought a new computer 2 times. He can just use one of your old PCs. You don't need that much performance to learn.

By the time my first kid was born, I’d bought a new computer...well, a whole more than two times. And he’s five, and I’ve done more than two since. But the ones that aren't repurposed and in use also aren't reliable (that's why they aren't repurposed), and while you don't need much performance to learn (a plus for the Pi because it's not a master of performance), having something trustworthy is valuable. (Sure, in some cases the reliability issue is fixable with replace parts costing more than a Pi, but then...)

It strikes me that your definition of "most people" does not, in fact, include most people.

You can get a reasonable second hand laptop for £100. Pi 400 is £60 without the screen.

But you could hook up the Pi 400 to a large TV and you have some decent playground.