[pjmlp]

I wouldn't advise unstructured BASIC, there are plenty of structured improvements to choose from.

It is easy to learn because it was the first language to come with batteries.

In some 8 bit micros it was as powerful as the underlying Assembly, only slower. So it was relatively easy to prototype.

Also the the runtime was the OS.

Nowadays a kid needs to learn how to access the development environment, probably configured by an adult and to do more complicated tasks might need some help getting libraries.

Maybe stuff like boards with MicroPython will help here.