Oh my goodness! Are you kidding me? 6 kids with the oldest being 8? Vinyl for sure!! Not everything can be for show, if you know what I mean. I have 3 kids and quickly realized that while some design choices may look better than others, I need to choose function over form. What's worse the look of vinyl or the look of a million scratches on hardwood. Think "rocking horse". ;)

Prime example? I used to spend hours a week scrubbing my dining room chairs. I realized that was time better spent elsewhere, so I had them reupholstered in vinyl and plan to change them out when the kids are older.

what about vinyl that looks like wood? http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/products/vinyl-sheet/traditional-wood/_/N-67sZ6wb

My daughter's rental house has vinyl floors that look a lot like the picture Tami posted. Looks good, feels good, much more practical. Your kids are little now, but hard on the floor just progresses as they get older. Eventually you'll have basketballs bouncing on the floors, sport shoes of various sorts that should be left at the door but aren't, and general chasing and running around. One of the girls will inevitably spill nail polish or nail polish remover on the floor (well, maybe one of the boys, you never know). If you have real wood at this point you're going to spend more time reprimanding them than is necessary. You'll worry about it and be mad at them. Family life will go a tad smoother if you don't set them up for transgressions.

My conclusion: you'll be happier if you go for the vinyl at this point in your family life.

Thanks for reassuring me that my reasoning makes sense!

Get more quotes. I think you are underestimating the cost of vinyl and overestimating the cost of the wood. Any vinyl that will give you good wear will be in the $2-$3 a square foot range, and you can get solid oak for that and DIY the install and finish. And then you'd only need to rescreen and recoat every couple of years as the maintenance to keep the wood looking great.

Check out a vinyl plank flooring called Adura by Mannington. Heirloom Cherry is quite nice. It's a wider plank with a beveled edge.
Worth checking out. Also used commercially...so that means it will take some abuse!

Have you thought of a rustic wide plank hickory floor? We have young kids and we are going with a rustic hickory floor because it hides dings, has lots of knots and naturally cured finish on it so it doesn't have much sheen to it. It is very practical for us. That being said vinyl is very practical and you could do hardwood later. Look wise I would go with hardwood. It really depends on what you can live with. Are marks going to bother you? Do mind eventually refinishing it? Are the kids playing with heavy toys in the that area? I love wood so I would go with would and if I did vinyl it would be temporary. I think it is important to love the feel of your space and it to be practical.