You can't make anyone relate to a character of any age group without various things that make you relate to, even an older Anakin. If Anakin as a kid were more skilled, like having sufficient self-defense skills, not stuck on one planet, and not being stereotypically whiny and useless, he should be countered by better flaws. Like being an orphan since he was very little and lost into a system in the Outer Rim with many less-than-savory folks, and not having loved ones until he met Obi-Wan. And certain child actors have the skills to portray not-so-stereotypical kids 8-12 that Jake Lloyd didn't. And I don't want any actor to get bullied like that. The only thing about Lucas' characterization for him in Episode 1 I'd keep was being an excellent pilot, exceptionally strong with the Force. The rest of the movie would be vastly different than Lucas made it.

Also, to call a character's race, gender, orientation, age, etc. controversial is inappropriate. People should judge a character for how they are conceived, which includes reasons why a creator chose a certain option. George Lucas didn't have good reasons for the option of the 8-12 age group, but that doesn't mean the option of making Anakin older should be poorly-conceived and weighed down by bad reasons either. Lucas' vision got clouded by greed, the desire to appeal to kids, and the desire for merchandise, not by an option of any of those factors. And judging Anakin for being a kid as opposed to how Lucas conceived him is detrimental to making an older Anakin fit. We have to be capable of preventing Lucas' problems manually, like making Anakin and Pe the same age. Him as a teen and her a young adult is almost as bad. And making Anakin older doesn't excuse sidelining Obi-Wan or having no clear protagonist. Obi-Wan is the one who fits that role. Benefits only come from all those things, not age groups. I'd be satisfied enough if an older Anakin wasn't tainted by such problems, and that can't happen automatically.