I think this only illustrates that your son played better chess. The white player didn't really screw up in the opening. He just played bad moves in the middle game so he lost a piece and then had no plan so he just kept moving his queen from h5 to g4 and f3 and back.

I think this is a typical game for beginners to play. Don't blame it on the opening, blame it on lack of knowledge on tactics and strategies.