Opinions appreciated on DNA testing as a gift...

[Craclyn]

Go for an autosomal test with AncestryDNA. If he gets really interested then you can subsequently upload his results to MyHeritage, FTDNA, Gedmatch, LivingDNA and Geneanet to get more matches and different ethnicity estimates.
This is a spit test rather than a swab test. The lockdown issues do not seem to have prevented them from continuing to process tests.

[Guy Etchells]

Different companies have different age limits on who they will allow to test. It is important to know what they are before you get a test in case they will not accept a 14 year old's sample.

A while back someone listed all the companies in a post on here, Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing, and their age limits. thus if you do a search you may find it. Alternatively you could look at each individual company's site as they will have the age limits on there.

I posted the following on I think 10 March 2020
It varies according to testing companies however local laws in most countries allow parents and/or guardians to make legal decisions on behalf of their children.

Ancestry : 18 years old, edit Parents & Guardians may activate tests for children under 18
23&me  : 13 years old, edit plus need the consent of those who have legal authority to agree.
FamilyTreeDNA : 13 years old, edit Parents & those who have legal authority may activate tests for children under 18
MyHeritage DNA : Parents & Guardians may purchase tests for children under 18

Cheers
Guy

[davidft]

Ancestry : 18 years old, edit Parents & Guardians may activate tests for children under 18
23&me  : 13 years old, edit plus need the consent of those who have legal authority to agree.
FamilyTreeDNA : 13 years old, edit Parents & those who have legal authority may activate tests for children under 18
MyHeritage DNA : Parents & Guardians may purchase tests for children under 18

Thank you for posting that, I had been searching for it. It will give bagpuss something to start with.

[bagpuss1971]

Thank you Liz, I am indeed new to the DNA aspect of family history having never delved into it before, and I understand what you are stating, even though it hadn't crossed my mind until you mentioned it!
I do really appreciate your opinions and feedback, thank you 
 I hadn't looked for age restrictions either, so will need to consider that too, thank you for mentioning that Ruskie….as for the suggestion of a Switch, he has been dropping hints since Christmas for one, now that would make his day  

All this feedback is fab, I really appreciate it, especially the age limits as that never crossed my mind, thank you

[youngtug]

https://www.smarterhobby.com/genealogy/best-dna-test/

[Ruskie]

Also for a 14 year old you might like to think about whether a DNA test and the results will be interesting enough to keep him engaged long term, when matches continue to come in. Once he discovers that he has a 60 year old 5th cousin once removed who lives in the USA or Australia or France or Scotland .... how interested will he be? It may end up being your project rather than his.

My daughter is a lot older than 14 and is interested in family history, has taken a DNA test, also bought them for her boyfriend and his mother, but she passes any queries on to me though because I put all the family trees together (with a little help from her on her boyfriend's tree) and as she is not really interested in communicating with any matches who contact her.

You know your own child, they're all different, a DNA test is a great idea and a long term investment which he will probably grow more interested in as he gets older.

(apparently Animal Crossing is a fun game) 

[TerriG]

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Also for a 14 year old you might like to think about whether a DNA test and the results will be interesting enough to keep him engaged long term, when matches continue to come in. Once he discovers that he has a 60 year old 5th cousin once removed who lives in the USA or Australia or France or Scotland .... how interested will he be? It may end up being your project rather than his.

Bagpus says her son is interested in any overseas connections, so I think this would be a plus!

[Ruskie]

[

Also for a 14 year old you might like to think about whether a DNA test and the results will be interesting enough to keep him engaged long term, when matches continue to come in. Once he discovers that he has a 60 year old 5th cousin once removed who lives in the USA or Australia or France or Scotland .... how interested will he be? It may end up being your project rather than his.

Bagpus says her son is interested in any overseas connections, so I think this would be a plus!

I understand that, but once he realizes that everyone who takes a DNA test will have many overseas matches, many of them likely to be elderly, I was wondering if the novelty might wear off. Depends on the child of course. It may end up being a real passion for him. 

[arthurk]

You might also want to consider how much you would/should be involved in managing the results and contacting matches.

To put it another way, would you want your 14 year old to be in touch with strangers without you keeping an eye on things? You might feel you can trust him, but what about the people on the other end?