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Over the years I've taught a lot of kids, including my own, to cast and fish in both formal and informal settings and for what it's worth, here's my two cents on the topic. I'll speak in generalities, there are always exceptions to the rule depending on the child and whether or not they've had any prior exposure and experience.

It's of little consequence what the rod is made of - bamboo, glass or graphite. There was a time when all kids learned to fish with bamboo and plenty have come to a life-long passion of the sport by starting out with graphite. But, IMHO, fine tackle, regardless of what it's made of, is wasted on children. That's not because they don't "deserve" it or can't come to appreciate it over time. It's because after about 15 minutes of ooohing and ahhhing, and being impressed with it because they're "supposed" to be impressed with it, they do what kids do best and what the rest of us classic tackle junkies tend to miss sometimes - they come to focus on its utility. As said, that focus lasts about 2 hours.

A lot of people think that because it's a child, a shorter rod and lighter line weight is the way to go. They're little people, after all. In addition, the thinking seems to be that you want the child to get the thrill of feeling a fish on a light line. That's backwards. The first thing you want them to get is the feel of the rod. I happen to believe in what was the conventional wisdom for a long time - the best compromise in line weight - which I'll define as the most tactile of experiences combined with a reasonable degree of finesse is the 6-weight. You want them to get the "feel" of the thing. It can be difficult enough for an adult to "get" a 4-weight, let alone a child just starting out. I can go with a 5-weight in some cases, but depending on the rod (particularly with graphite), I might overload it with a 6-weight line in order to get the rod to perform easily and allow the kid to develop that feel of the rod loading and unloading.

After some rudimentary casting instruction and helping them tie on a fly, the best thing to do is leave them alone in a place with plenty of stupid fish because if they don't catch one within 15 minutes or so, you'll never get to the afore-mentioned 2 hour focus on the rod's utility. The appreciation of tackle and the finer mechanics of fishing will come if they love what they're doing. And the best way to instill a love of the sport in them, as Alaric alludes to, is let them go catch frogs.