Swiss International Airlines - Family Seat Selection

I will be traveling on SWISS for the first time on route BOS>ZRH>VLC & back with spouse & 2 young kids. Unfortunately my *A status is long expired, so this will be a coach trip. Any recommendation on coach seats for a family of 4 on Swiss A330-300? Am I better off doing 2&2 on the side or 4 in the middle? Any advantage in sitting in the forward economy cabin if available?

Also, I signed up for the web vs. automated check-in process, as it seems through web I can get seats 24 hours prior, whereas the automated one would not do seat assignments until a few hours later. Is this correct?

From my personal experience I would choose the 4 seats in the middle. Because this allows at least your kids to stretch across the seats (if they are not too grown up).

Additionally I prefer the seats in the back of the cabin, because sometimes - if you are lucky and the flight is not fully booked - you find some more seats there. Best experience ever was when my wife, the 2 kids and me had 2 rows of each 4 seats plus another 2 seats at the side. Even in BIZ I wouldnt sleep better ;)