Shane, my 8 year old has been playing about 11 months and has a 3/4 size guitar that is perfect for him. The scale length is approx 24 inches. The nut is 1-3/4 and string spacing at the saddle is 2-1/8. The lower bout is 13" and the upper bout is 10".
For a childs guitar, I would urge you to consider a nylon string guitar for several reasons. First the string tension is much lower and a LOT easier on little fingers. Second, the nut is slightly wider which is actually an advantage for a child until they can manipulate their fingers well enough to avoid muting other strings. Third, I think it's easier to get a better tone on a small scale nylon than SS guitar. For a 5 year old, I think you might want to consider a 1/2 size guitar. There is a huge difference at that age when it comes to hand size. Also, it will be difficult for a 5 year old to develop calluses while a nylon string will be much easier. Usually pain=no practice at that age.
Here's a short video of my 8 year old and his 3/4 size guitar (you can tell he's thrilled to be playing the guitar for the forum)
.
3/4 size guitar
Cheers!
John
