Je trouve ça... Je prends ça...

[Dilbertian]

This sounds wrong to me. I used to speak tolerable French, though I'm very rusty now. I would have said "Je le trouve... Je le prends..."

My dc are certain that using ça is the correct construction.

Can any experts advise?

Using ca isn't wrong exactly, but it's clumsy and inelegant. "Je le trouve" + adjective would be more natural-sounding, and much more common amongst French speakers I think. I've heard this construction a lot amongst the kids I tutor, I think they learn it at school because it avoids having to teach them how to use direct object pronouns properly.

See I would have said that 'ca' was more colloquial and je le trouve is more formal and what you would probably be taught to write?

I've just asked my DCs who have been educated entirely in France, they say both are correct depending on situation.

Ooh thanks PPs, I've learnt something there. Just goes to show how utterly written/ formal language-focused my degree is that I would automatically think of Je le trouve as correct. Honestly I'm going to sound so stilted when I come out of this course.

I suspect that “ca” is taught as an “easier” or earlier version, because the word order is closer to English, and the pronouns “le” and “la” haven’t been done yet.

Je trouve ça inadmissible

I find that unacceptable: used if you were discussing the immediate problem. Like you have called an employee into your office because you just caught them mooning their colleagues from the window.

You could also use the same construction for talking about child poverty or you could use this one:

Je le trouve inadmissible: I find it unacceptable ...but you would probably not ever use this construction when addressing the colleague you just caught mooning. But, if a colleague was persistently late, you would probably say je le trouve inadmissible.

Je prends ça: you've just ordered a pack of cigarettes and you also want to order a lighter "je prends ça, et je prends aussi..."

Je la prends: you've been trying on different dresses and you have settled on your choice

It’s not wrong or easier but it’s slightly less formal. Ceci and cela are more formal.

You use ca when you are talking about something very immediate literally or figuratively and always for something abstract like an idea or concept. To be precise it’s an indefinite demonstrative pronoun. C’est ca!

@brittanyfairies kids are completely right as are the ops children. It’s about context and meaning

Merci!

De rien!

Think about using it in a context when in English you could also say ‘this’ or ‘that’ as well as ‘it’.

I don’t get this
I can’t find that
I’d like this (one)
Put that there

For physical objects, if you can point to what you are talking about a demonstrative pronoun (ceci, cela, ca) is likely the best choice.

Some examples:
J’ai trouvé le sac dans le placard ou bien
Je trouve toujours la bonne réponse à ces questions là où bien
je l’ai trouvé par hasard

Je prends mon sac
J’ai pris mon sac ou
je l’ai pris