re: I feel like schools need to start teaching the start of World War II as July 7, 1937...

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Japan fought with the allies in WWI. Additionally, there was very little in the way of warfare in the pacific theater in WWI. In 1937 China was not a big player in world affairs. This is in contrast to Germany and the Central powers who were involved in both WWI and WWII. Therefore the Sept 1, 1939 makes sense in the fact that it starts with Germany's aggression in Europe because it's the common link between the two wars.

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Your pre-teen is very smart and I'm happy to hear he's seriously studying history. I would remind him that while Japan was indeed an ally in the First World War, they were screwed by the Big Four (France, Great Britain, Italy, and the United States) during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. They wanted much for helping the Entente but got very little in return. The radicalization of the Japanese military and their aggression in mainland Asia during the 1930s was a direct result of this.