Hey Taz
Good to hear you are going to allow her to shoot whats comfortable for her. When I was a kid everyone tried to break me, and have me do things righthanded. I do shoot a gun southpaw, and I have shot quite a few models and have never had an incident(knock on wood). I know from your past posts you are very safety concious, so Im assuming the kids will be shooting with saftey glasses on<img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>. I received my ruger 10-22 as a gift and it had a guard installed for extra protection. I dont know if thats comes standard or has to be purchased separate. Im sure a pump would be safer, as long as she drops the gun off her shoulder before she racks it.
Happy Holidays!