Need more info. How many and what size kids? There's a big difference between going out and actually fishing , and there is a difference between bass fishing and catfishing.
I was in the same situation and as an all around compromise, I bought a Sea Ark Rivercat 200. It's a 20'long 8' wide john boat with decks,center console, livewells, and 115 4 stroke outboard. I got it for 22K.
There's a lot of other choices though for less money or more. I wouldn't expect to take the family on anything smaller than 18'.
