There are three main sections zoomed in the picture; the Headstock, the Neck, and the Body. The headstock holds the Tuner Posts around which the strings are wrapped and terminated. The Tuners are knobs that increase or decrease the tension on the string wrapped around the tuner posts (tuning the sound made by the strings). Note that some acoustic guitars may have different looking tuners, and some may even have all six tuner keys on the same side. Even though they may look different, they work in the same manner. The Nut guides the strings to the tuner posts and maintains the height of the strings.

The length of the Neck depends on the scale of the guitar and the number of frets it has. The back of the neck could be "C" shaped, or "V" shaped (sideways < if you compare it to the letter C). The front of the neck is the Fingerboard or Fretboard, that contains the Frets embedded in notches along its surface. The Strings run down the neck over the frets. The height of the strings over the frets is called the Action; if the action is too high the strings are harder to press down, if the action is too low the strings may rattle against the frets muffling the notes. The neck usually has "dot" markers on the top and the side facing the player, showing the position of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th (which has two dots) and 15th fret.
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It can take a year or more for a kid to start sounding reasonably musical. If you play any musical instrument, invite the child to play along with you, they will have fun and it will increase their interest in music.

For young children 5 to 8 years old, you (or them) should consider buying a Nylon String Acoustic guitar of a short scale. The 1/2 scale guitar is tiny and most kids would outgrow it at 6 years of age, but it depends on the size of your child. The 3/4 scale guittar is suitable for most kids through to 10 or 12 years of age. After that (or this, or whatever) , their hands are usually long enough to handle adult scale guitars. Nylon string acoustic guitars are good for smaller kids as they are easier on their fingers, they will find steel string guitars painful to play. Older kids may be fine with steel strings, but it depends on your childs personality as well. The type of music that you want your child to learn is also an important decision factor in selecting a guitar. For classical music, nylon string acoustics are the best. Older kids may demand a cool-looking electric guitar with flames painted on it - if they are going to play it, go ahead and get it for them. But keep in mind that acoustic guitars don't need anything else (except a large collection of picks, most of which will get lost or converted into playthings). Electric kids guitars will also require an amp (amplifier) - and are MUCH louder.
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For older kids and acoustic guitars, you may want to consider the smaller scale adult guitars; such as the 00 or 000 scale. If their hands and fingers are long enough they should be able to play these adult sized guitars as well. Click to view Basic Guitar Lessons, or how to Choose Acoustic or Electric Guitar.

One word of caution: some people are selling books, videos and even offering lessons about teaching kids to play the guitar by keeping it flat on the child's lap and using a slide (like blue-grass slide guitar players). This is a tremendously BAD way to teach a child the guitar - they will not be able to play holding the guitar upright the normal way. They will have to un-learn this wrong technique at a older age, it just wastes their time and will discourage them later.

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