In this age - it is easy if you try, you have the qurraa of haramain and other top notch quraa from around the globe ready to assist you via audio recordings and repeat over and over again at your own pace and time in a way that would have been perceived as a priceless blessing only a few decades ago - let alone at the time of sahaabah and taabi'een who would trek hundreds of dangerous kilometers by ship, camel, horse, donkey, and on foot in order to reach a recommended reciter who they would serve as humble and devoted needy people in order to get in their good graces and attention.
It's easier at a young age since there is less on the mind - but i believe it's better to study Islam whilst learning arabic and attain good character at younger ages since the Quran in Arabic without understanding takes less priority considering the now available audio technology.
One must ask themself: am i becoming a haafiz just to be able to feel good about myself without understanding what Allah

is teaching me?
Do i want to show other people that i am a good tape recorder replacement?
Or am i learning it so that i can quickly remember a verse from my memory files when i am faced with an issue requiring a decision? (Since my preservation of the Quran will be a valuable tool if i comprehend and understand what Allah

is saying).
The term under-stand must have had a legal meaning at some time in history.
The sahaabah were able to comprehend and easily understand the word of Allah

- and their hifz of Quran had a totally different intention to that of non-Arabic speakers who now think they are following in their footsteps.
Please think it over and see if it is better to understand the Quran than to carry MEANINGLESS scrolls.