The Rossi is not bad for the price, and multi usage; but for a specific RIFLE I would go with the Savage youth model in .243.
I just like a rifle to do a specific BIG GAME job, and get a shotgun as a seperate weapon for small game/waterfowl usage.
Just my 2-cents worth!

A SKS is a real nice starter rifle for kids, they are short, have iron sights, but can be fitted with a scope,I have kept iron sights so my boys learn to be good with them, they can goto a scope later. If the youngin misses they are semi-auto so they have a follow up shot without having to worry about working a lever, or bolt. There are some good hunting loads for the 7.62x39 now I think they are 154 grain, and they kick less then the 30-30, and you can buy tons of the cheap ammo so your kids can practice all the time without braking the bank. The only thing I can think of as being a drawback is that it comes with a 10 rd fixed mag. that might be a problem in some states, but they are easy to switch out and there is alot of after market add on parts, you can get a synthetic stock pretty cheap. I went through Marlin 30-30's Bolt guns, and single shots, with my older kids, but my two youngest both have used the SKS the older of the two, one shot dropped a good 9pt at 75yds, and the youngest shot his first a three pt that went 30yds and dropped on the juv. hunt, and dropped a nice 8pt at 116yds in its tracks on the rifle opener, so its got plenty of power for whitetail. They were cheap but I don't know what they go for now.
I got the idea from a friend who had his kids starting out with a AK-47, they have normal ironsites, they are short also and are easy for kids to handle, and he found some 5 rd mags for them to hunt with at a gun show, and 30 rd mags for home defence. They are a little more expensive then the SKS and the safety is loud and not as easy to use while aiming.