Advice for parent of would-be oboist Options

[soccermom]

For the last couple of years my 12 year old has been keen on learning the oboe. So far I have been resisting. She already plays the piano and cello and has singing lessons and she's not doing enough practice on those, without adding another instrument. But if at some point she can convince me that a third instrument is viable, I'd like to know a bit more about the various pros and cons of the oboe. I know next to nothing about the oboe - or indeed any woodwind instrument - though I do love the sound of it when played well.

A few questions:

What make and model would anyone recommend or should I avoid (I'd probably go for second hand)?
Can you play with braces (she has her first appointment with an orthodontist next month)?
While I'm thinking about it would it be helpful (or unhelpful) to get her playing the recorder? I have descants and trebles in the house, plus some recorder music, (she has played the descant a bit, but only at a very basic level).
What do I need to know about reeds and maintenance?
What else do I need to know?

Thanks

[gwyntdi-enw]

It's a bit off the wall, I know, but how about just getting one soft student reed, and no instrument at all? When my daughter first started learning at school, that's all she was given for a couple of weeks. It seems they'd discovered that just trying to get a sound out of the reed was enough to deter those who turned out not to be genuinely interested in putting in the effort.