I think you should def have a kid in the beginning. As we all know, collectibles tend to come fast and furious at the start of the game, then slow down over time.

In VV2 and VV3 both, the only games where I managed to finish the collections were games where I scanned almost continuously with a child. I do this by "flying" the child in a grid search over the whole playing area except for when I have to stop and direct the adults.

On the other hand...in VF all the family members can pick up collectibles...hmm I wonder...Oh well, we'll know soon enough (I hope).