[Waedawen]

This is a bit late, but the dynamic among 3 people, especially beginners should definitely be 'Healer, Caster, Melee' and for that I'd say Dark Elf, Elf, Human or Iksar starting strategies

One warrior/monk, One necro/mage, and you on the shaman (or some other priest) would be an extremely effective and easy way to get your kids into the game. Priest classes in general are the strongest archetype, so if you can take care of them you will have a lot of room for error. And as far as 'errors' are concerned, you should let your kids try leading you around as soon as possible so they can learn and you can teach very organically and nothing feels 'forced.'

Above all, if you just play the game, it'll be awesome. So what if you're killing dark blues in the middle of Field of Bone. Your kids will learn and eventually get the hunger. Just gotta be patient. I've introduced a lot of friends to this game and got the whole gamut of reactions.

Also, Christ on a Stick, if you can, make sure you have some good Kunark weapons and +55 rings at least for everyone. Jade and Black Sapphire jewelry is also extremely good at low levels. That will make everything SO SO much better.