That said, they are a tank and weight like a tank. They lasted me 10 years (500+days of tough usage) and what finally gave is sole which disintegrated, skin is still OK. Instead of shoe heaven I had soles replaced back home and still use it in High Tatras back home on tougher rocky scrambles.
For normal usage I can second Lowa Renegade, the shoe I started using after my Meindls above disintegrated. They are full leather but super lightweight, often on par with more solid low ankle shoes. Compared to those, they offer much better stability and even in easy hikes you often have few bits which are more tricky, don't underestimate this aspect. Very comfortable, especially if you have wider foot. Can handle light rain / a bit of wet terrain if impregnated properly, something you will appreciate more than once.
One drawback - they are not as durable, rough terrain like sharp rocks will destroy them much quicker (not a surprise since they weight 50% of Meindls). Stitching gave away on both shoes multiple times on exactly same place (where toe pinky is), but that's easy to fix in any boot shop for few chuffs.
After some 5 years of tough usage I bought... next pair of Lowas Can't beat the weight saving and comfort, they say weight on feet is cca 5x the same weight carried in the backpack. Or roughly every 100g takes away 1% of your VO2 max
In terms of brands though, apart from objective criteria being met it's pretty personal. In terms of comfort/support, i am always amazed with Meindl whereas my wife prefers Lowa and plenty of people swear by Merrells
Whatever you buy it should feel comfortable in the store. Do be sure to try things on with the socks you are likely to wear.
Like others, I tend to prefer certain brands simply because they fit. However, I still cannot buy online as the sizing and fit can vary by model.
I have never been to either of these but Mammut and Merrell both have outlet stores - both in Aargau.
Some of those recommendations -with links to boots costing around 300 CHF, were not, in my opinion, particularly helpful.
But if the OP wants advice based on the information she gave then I would suggest, if they are walking with a five year old, that the adults wear trainers and the kid wears his school shoes.
Last week, I did a 22Km hike with my kids on footpaths.
One wore a pair of cheap hand-me-down light-weight boots. The other a pair of cheap hand-me-down hiking shoes and I wore a eight-year old pair of running shoes.
We could have walked further but needed to catch the last bus. None of had any foot pain or blisters.