Hi CatCuddler,
While it is true that some fish might be "hardy" compare to other fish, most fish are easy to take care of if you do things correctly. Likewise, if you are not doing things right, all fish will die regardless if they are "hardy" or not.
In other words, the same good condition can keep all fish alive and happy. The same poor condition can kill all fish eventually. There are only two choices with little in between. Either you keep all of them alive, or you kill all of them.
Yes, a few fish might die here and there but in a well maintained aquarium you might not lose any fish for years.
Most kids do not have a clue on how to take care of the fish. It is up to the parents to guide them. Unfortunately, most parents also do not know the right ways to keep fish healthy in an aquarium, but at least they can do some research.
For total beginners, I highly recommend to read some of our fish beginner's guide before get started.
http://petskeepersguide.com/forums/Threa...ner-Guides
If you have any further question, feel free to ask.
If you absolutely have to know a few of the "hardy" fish, or "newbie friendly" fish, in my personal opinion there is no such thing as "newbie friendly". As for "hardy" fish, for example Zebra Danio is considered "hardy" since they can handle polluted water longer than most other fish, but they will still die eventually if the water condition is less than ideal. They are also not really friendly to newbies. Since newbies are tend to have small to medium sized fish tanks, it is not ideal for fast moving school fish like Zebra Danio.
Some people might say guppy and platy types of live-bearers are "easy". Maybe. They will just keep reproducing though, and they will overpopulate your aquarium in little time if you have kept them all alive.
Goldfish is fairly easy to take care of and they are less fragile compare to tropical fish, but they need larger fish tanks due to their (potential full adult) size. Large aquarium is not newbie friendly in my opinion.
