Turn table for my kid???


My daughter just told me she wants a turn table. That thought really excites me because I hope she eventually loves music as much as I do.  Additionally, I've been thinking of getting into vinyl myself but haven't for fear of the money pit it will become like the rest of my audio endeavors.

So it looks like I can start this journey together with my kid.  Cool.  My question then is what's a good entry level tt?  I assume I will need to get a phono pre, etc?  I would much prefer one that is as self contained as possible.  Ideally I would be able to just connect some speakers to it or connect it directly into my integrated amp. Please take it easy on a vinyl noob.

Thank you and happy new year!
128x128tboooe
I just bought an excellent condition Beogram 5500 for my secondary system (wife friendly). Plug-and-play, Danish cool, solid construction. I am using it more than my Clearaudio main rig lately. Maybe I got lucky but it came with a very nice sounding MMC2. All for $250. Fully automatic which I think your daughter would appreciate.
With a budget of $500, I’d suggest avoiding speakers entirely and instead, opt for headphones.

Granted she won’t be getting a pair of Stax, but neither will she be getting a pair of Wilson Audio Sophias either...
Tboooe,

Definitely look into the Denon DP-300F for your price range. It has a built in phono preamp and is probably built better than the AT offerings. Crutchfield recently had them on sale for $200. 

I agree with Nordicnorm that you'll get the most bang for your buck with headphones.You can find some great headphones for around  $100, like the Grado SR80.

With the Denon DP-300F and headphones, you can be listening for about $300. You'd have a couple hundred left over for a Spin Clean record cleaner, carbon fiber brush, (a must) and a decent cartridge, like the Shure M97xe. Music Direct or Needle Doctor would likely be able to mount the cartridge for you. 

Since you're new to the hobby, I'd avoid vintage turntables for now.
My son wanted a turntable this Christmas and, fortunately gave me plenty of notice.  I eventually found an audiophile used Technics SL-1200 MK II on eBay for $599 and added an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge.  The combination sounds great together and there are plenty of parts and mods available for this TT in the future if it breaks or he wants to upgrade.