[Megatron96]

Have your parents pick out their own guns, hopefully after trying them out at a gun range that rents them.

If these are just for home defense (and not trying to clear their own home, just hunker down in the bedroom and call the cops) I'd recommend a pistol-caliber carbine instead of any pistol. A lot easier to aim and operate, with generally much higher capacity. Also probably won't completely ruin your hearing the way a shotgun or a rifle would if discharged in a small room.

Using pistols in the hands of complete amateurs to clear a home, probably in the dark against possibly multiple BGs, is a risky proposition.

PCCs are not much more expensive than a typical revolver. In some cases such as the Kel-tec sub-2000 (9mm) they are significantly less.

PCCs also have virtually no recoil impulse, so much easier to handle while firing than any pistol. Also the longer sight radius makes for much easier aiming, and follow-up shots.