MAvericks mobile shell rom is a good alt, you'll just need to acquire a mobileshell license. My phone lasts me about 2 days with my tweaks I usually do.
Vindows Rom is also a good one, no need to overclock except for games like NFS. It does need tweaking for better battery life while in use. Disabling startup progs, adjusting update settings and the like. Open keyboard compatability.
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/cdma-tp2-u...2019-core.html
It would probably be smarter to give him something that he could hard reset if it gets all wonky, might be a good idea to cook him a rom with the apps he likes.