darkSpyro

My son is trying to beat Scabb and can't figure out how any suggestions

Well watching someone beat him on youtube dos help beacause it gives you the feel of how to do it and you know what he is going to throw at you. It also gave me a boost of confidence. But the best thing would probley be looking at the walkthrough. Getting all this information and taking a break once and a while if you get frustrated helps too. And no matter what keep trying!!!

Here is the Ps2 and Wii version walkthrough for him:
The big dumb pirate will start firing his hook at you. Dodge it a couple of times and he'll get it stuck. This is your chance to melee attack a few times him but as soon as he manages to free it you need to get out of his way. Keep repeating this simple method about three or four times until you eventually get his first health bar down.

His second attack consists of firing several shots in a row, dodge these by walking to the side and then jumping back along the same path then walking it and jumping and walking and jumping until he finishes this attack. He'll then fire a couple of times with several bullets at once. Double jump right over these (or if you're in the air when he fires, get on the ground). His gun will start to spark after about four of these multi-shots and give you a chance to attack, a melee of three hit should be about right. You and he should then repeat this until you defeat him.
One of the most straightforward bosses of the game, all you need to do on any difficulty is to learn the difference between the two shot sounds, one for his gun and the other for the cannon. Stand on the far left of the area and wait. If you hear the gun sound get read to jump over the bullet, if you hear the cannon sound get read to jump and melee the cannonball into Skabb.

You'll see an arrow appear above you, so jump up and melee it in the air, and as long as you knock it to the right it should hit Skabb. Once it does hit him you need to run up to him and attack until he starts blocking again. Luckily he won't fight back whilst he's vulnerable so go nuts with melee and breath attacks. Keep repeating this until his health is all gone.

A slightly better place to stand would be to the right of Skabb and do the same as you can also see when he's preparing to fire his gun rather than cannon. It also gives you more time to attack him being a shorter distance and you can see immediately if the cannonball has hit. Also the parrots tend not to fly here.

One more breath to get...

I hoped I helped!!!(Sorry that there was no Nintendo DS version) Anyways tell your son good luck and have fun!!!
Here is the Gamboy advanced version:
One of the most straightforward bosses of the game, all you need to do on any difficulty is to learn the difference between the two shot sounds, one for his gun and the other for the cannon. Stand on the far left of the area and wait. If you hear the gun sound get read to jump over the bullet, if you hear the cannon sound get read to jump and melee the cannonball into Skabb.

You'll see an arrow appear above you, so jump up and melee it in the air, and as long as you knock it to the right it should hit Skabb. Once it does hit him you need to run up to him and attack until he starts blocking again. Luckily he won't fight back whilst he's vulnerable so go nuts with melee and breath attacks. Keep repeating this until his health is all gone.

A slightly better place to stand would be to the right of Skabb and do the same as you can also see when he's preparing to fire his gun rather than cannon. It also gives you more time to attack him being a shorter distance and you can see immediately if the cannonball has hit. Also the parrots tend not to fly here.

One more breath to get...