Well
I dont often get the chance to say "I told you so" so I will indulge just a few times now. Just kidding. Great job not being upset and letting them move on to other guns. I know when I put a lot of thought and time into planning something and there is expense involved I have a strong urge to just plow through. You COULD have said "you will get used to it/ it won't hurt you" etc and while this is true you wisely kept a positive experience a higher priority.
Here is what I think is going on, although some was mentioned in my previous post.
Newer shooters tend not to really separate muzzle blast (sound, noise, light, air pressure on their face) from recoil impulse at first. All they know is that the act of firing has left a big impression on them.
Snub noses unfortunately can have a lot both especially in lighter carry oriented formats.
Newer/younger shooters as well as those less used to activites involving impact to their hands in general (catching a hard baseball, tennis ball, shovels, pickaxes) have trouble separating a strong pressure sensation from pain or fear of injury. Every big stimulus in their hand startles them. Or pain threshold is lower so a light load for an adult male will still genuinely cause pain. For the mental aspect: Older shooters might instead subconsciously ask inside "is this actually injuring me?" - and even then some will continue if the answer is yes
I started out with a steel Model 27-2 6 inch revolver as my first handgun and shot 38 special in it. It is WAY beefier than need be since this frame size is also used in the 44 magnum. I thought there was plenty of fire and sound for the first year but when I revisited it later as a more experienced shooter I realized the muzzle rose but not much else was going on no matter what 38 special load (even plus p) i put in it. After a shooter is more experienced he/she can separate the tasks at hand (fundamentals) from the sensations that follow, and work to ignore some sensations to cut down on anticipation/jerking the trigger etc. That separation allows you to focus on the front sight, smooth trigger pull etc. Some would argue that it works the other way around - focusing on fundamentals keeps you busy to ignore the impending sensations. Lamaze classes for shooters. Until then it's a lot to take in- why would I want to pull this trigger carefully if its going to startle me and "hurt" my hand next? so cutting out some of the sensations really helps until some understanding mentioned above kicks in.
It looks like you've got your daugher off to a great start. Well done
