See post 55 and NRA link. “...The ATF recommends that if you want to gift someone a firearm, you should purchase a gift card at the store instead. This way, they’ll get the exact gun they want, there will be no legal issues stemming from your purchase, and it can still be a surprise. However, unwrapping a gift card is far less climatic than a real firearm.....”
Of course the ATF recommends that. They want a record of who has what. I posted it is still not against federal law to give your kid a firearms, regardless of ATF recommendations. That is still the case. It is also legal in my state to buy firearms from private citizens with no FFL involvement. Buy your kid a gift card if you want to, but you don’t have to in most states.