We use the ESV here at the house, and their Sunday school teachers use the NIV.

My kids aren't that young anymore, so this is a bit off-topic, but my two oldest (both teens) like the ESV.

We use the NIV simply because they are in the curriculum that we use for Homeschooling. I think it is important that the kids should be able to recognize the verses they are memorizing when someone else (an adult) recites the verse. Typically an adult will be reciting an NIV, NKJV, ESV, or the like.

NIV - because that's what their teacher in Christian school wants them to use, plus it's the Bible I use.

However, if it wasn't for school, I might actually have them do the New Century Version, Or the New Living Translation or the NIrV - so that it would be easier for them to understand.
(NIV is on a 7th grade reading level. NCV and NIrV are on about a 3rd grade reading level.

Honestly, I don't think it matters too much as long as:
1-It's modern English. (i.e. you don't have archaic terms like "Quit ye like men"
2-You explain what the verse means before having them memorize it.

We use the NIrV because our youth dept. uses this version.

NIV, because the church uses that. We read an old NKJV to them daily also, but not for memory work.

I bought my oldest a NLT for her third birthday, and mostly use that with the kids. I'm not really happy with its renditions of the Psalms, but otherwise it works pretty well.

In our AWANA program, I believe we are using NIV. At home, it is also primarily NIV, although if I read anything (e.g. the Christmas story), it is likely from the NASB.

With the youngest, it would likely be from one of the kiddie paraphrases, or the Living Bible. But this isn't really for memorization purposes, so I guess it's off topic. sorry.

NIV.

Thanks guys. We're leaning NIV now, but we may try ESV or New Living.

I don't have kids and probably won't have kids for another decade or so, but I vote for ESV...that is, if we're voting. I like NIV too though. NKJV is difficult to memorize for me.

Hey, my oldest (7) reads the Good News (ESV IIRC) bible. It does some funny things with the text, but that's what questions are for. We don't do memorization, but in AWANA she is memorizing some of the standard pet verses of the Evangelicals. (Yes, I know I am an Evangelical too). When we do readings at home I usually pull up Biblegateway.com and find the one that reads best. I do this for liturgical readings too. I'm not married to a particular translation but I got over the NIV years ago.