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@DFP
If it is his first proper BMX I would emphasise choosing something with a good geometry/sizing and being lightweight. He wont need something super strong unless his doing massive street drops all day long. I managed a frame made of super crappy but lightweight thin mild steel from 13-15
Having something thats too heavy/bulky, and too big in terms of long wide cranks and long frame etc really kills the fun and slows down the progression of learning stuff like bunnyhop based tricks.
Thankfully BMX fashion is orientated towards making simple light bikes these days so it shouldnt be too much of a problem. Just bear in mind that many of the big commercial companies like haro & gt tend to make pretty crappy entry level bikes more orientated to trying to look good through gimmicks etc and are actually pretty heavy, way overbuilt, and dont have great geometry.
Of course if your kid is naturally gifted & a bit fearless then riding a slightly too big bike wont stop them ripping it. Heavy bikes can actually feel better/more stable if you have the balls to hit ride ramps/parks hard.
If you look at this 13 year old, (totally awesome rider killing it). You can see the big bike being awkward/clumsy to handle, a lot of the jumps towards the end are very 'dead sailor-ish' because its difficult to handle that size of bike beneath him. Same for the attempts at spins, the kid has clearly got the skills a better fitted bike would let him do a lot more, and smoothly.
Obviously it isnt affecting him too much, but for a new rider, perhaps not so naturally talented the awkwardness is greatly emphasised. Having a bad first BMX can be enough to put a kid off riding.
John Fahl, Park Edit on Vimeo