My kids have been wanting to go to San Francisco for the last couple of years. We finally bought some cheap round trip tickets for them. Having only stayed downtown with my wife, I am looking for advice on where to stay with the fam.

We are looking at renting a vacation home in the downtown area. What districts do I avoid? Young family sights or activity ideas.
We may even stay out of the downtown area and travel down to Monterrey, etc.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.