"nudging" has been part of pinball since day 1... you can't properly play an em without nudging the machine, and generally well in advance of when the ball gets to where you don't want it to go... many older em's need to be truly manhandled to be played properly...
as far as "kids"... ever since i've been tall enough to see the playfield, i've been able to nudge a machine...
a big part of pinball is "avoiding losing the ball"... pinball isn't all about "hit this target and complete this goal"... that's merely target practice...