Not sure which part time offer is better

1 definitely. 2 half days will be much more expensive childcare wise than a full day. Your might also want to sleep after the half days so you might be restricted in what you can do in the afternoons.

Offer 1.

My dc did mostly full days at nursery plus one half day. The half day was quite stressful as I'd be rushing to get there in the morning, then rushing to get him before they invoiced me for a full day (they had to be very strict about hours as people took advantage). The half day wasn't half the price of a full day either.

1 without a doubt

Offer 1 gives you much clearer boundaries. The danger with offer 2 is that you end up staying a bit longer to “just finish something off” or the “could you just cover another lesson as x is ill” and your Half days suddenly become. 3/4 or full days. This then puts added stress on childcare arrangements.

I have always worked full time myself but managing those working part time have almost always preferred the full day off option so that the time is theirs and there is no job creep.

Oh definitely offer 1! There is no way I'd consider offer 2, as essentially it's 4 days you have to go to work and not 3. I always feel like once I'm at work working I might as well just stay. Afternoons off will then often just turn into doing jobs, preparing tea etc.
Having 4 full days off a week is amazing (I did this with my first) it's a big difference to have more days at home than you work and much better work/life balance. Plus both of mine hated leaving nursery through the middle of the day and seeing their friends staying to have fun. Especially when they might have head through the day "this afternoon we'll go in the garden and make paint bubbles 🫧 or similar".
Plus it meant we had so many amazing days out and trips to the beach, theme parks, museums etc I loved those days.

Definitely option 1. Two days off is better quality time than one day/two afternoons. I’ve stopped doing a half day now as Half days have a habit of time creep so instead of leaving at 12.20, it’ll be 12.30, 1pm or later before you get out the door - time for which you are not being paid.

Also, if DC is doing long days at nursery on Mon/Fri, the half-days might be unsettling. (Is this a long day or a short day today? They might get upset after lunch on their long days) whereas 3 long days is a more stable routine.

Fun activities/groups tended to be in the mornings rather than afternoons or you can do something for the whole day. Afternoons can feel a bit squeezed between lunch and having to get back for dinner/bedtime routines.

Offer 1 for me. Whole days off are lovely and you have more time together.
Also later on you may want to do something else those days.
plus, less to plan lesson wise.
I also bet on half days you’ll have creep in of stuff like inset, cover, switches etc when you are physically on site ‘anyway’ and it’s just a ‘few hours, we always stay after school’

Also two clear days off will make managing sickness easier potentially.

I actually think 3 full days in nursery is better than two full and two half, because I think it will be unsettling for her that sometimes she's picked up at lunch and sometimes not. On her full days she'll likely be wondering where you are come lunchtime.

I work Monday and Friday I get paid for those sneaky days off!!

you'll have to pay nursery though for the bank holidays

I'd go for option 1. So you have less stress two mornings a week instead of one. Depending on how far you need to travel, less travel expenses.

I have worked half day positions and there are plenty times that my day didn't end when it was meant to.

Agree with the 3 days. If your DH thinks shorter days in nursery will be better for DD, what's his plan to adjust his hours to accommodate this? He could start late or finish early for example.

I would go for option 1. 3 full days and two full days off.

Only because in my experience, your half day work never ends on time. People seem to really struggle with others doing half a day and think that half a day means you're then free to quickly do something for them.

Two full days off are then yours to do as you wish and you will get more benefit from that.

Offer 1

I find afternoons with preschool children can be the least 'quality' time. Mine napped 1-3ish until they were 2/2.5. When they dropped/were dropping naps afternoons were hard due to being tired and grumpy sometimes!

I prefer out in the morning and then home/chill in the afternoon. As DC get older also gives you the time for bigger days out theme parks etc.

I would do offer 1 100%, I did 3 full days when my DC were small, I think half days would have just been harder and more unsettling for DC. Also our nursery half day pick up time was 1.15, later than that and they started charging late pickup fees so finishing at 12.20 doesn't give you much time to collect. Also factor in commuting costs which you would need to cover 4 days but on 3 days pay with offer 2!
Plenty of time to renegotiate in a few years when DC is school age when something like 3 full and 2 half days might be better.

Agree with full days - as a teacher you’ll either get held up at lunchtime or be on a mad rush. Also consider when you’re going to do put of hours pinning; I ring fence an hour after two of my four full days so I know I can have some protected time I’m not rushing home then doing it in the evening

As a teacher there will always be something that keeps you back on your half days. Maybe something a pupil needs or a meeting scheduled at lunch time that you really shouldn't miss.

Avoiding the school building entirely on 2 full days is a very strong way of avoiding any accidental extra work.

It might be easier for colleagues and pupils to adjust to as well.

Offer 1 definitely for me. I’ll rather work 3 days and have 4 days with dd. Not having to wake up early an extra day a week will sway it for me. Also , a long day at nursery is cheaper than 2 short days based on all the experiences I’ve had. In my son’s current nursery, a half day is £45 and a full day is £62. 2 half days will be £90 making it a more expensive option so look at what the nurseries close to you offer

Offer 1 sounds better. I could envisage ending up feeling stressed about getting away on the half-days. Nothing worse than having to clock-watch to the minute. Plus the bonus of having two days where you don't have to rush out the door. That's worth a bluddy fortune in my eyes!

3 full days.
You will get caught trying to leave at lunch if you work half days.

@arrowd as nice as 1 full and two half days off sounds, I think there is scope for ending up leaving later and later and eating into time off … whereas 2 full days off means as you aren’t on the premises at all and can’t get roped into anything.

I'd go for offer 2. You get to spend decent amounts of time with DD on 3 days instead of just two.

I played around with my hours quite a bit when I went back to work after having my DD (fortunately work were very flexible!).

I started working 4 days, with Wednesdays off. Then swapped it to 4 days spread over 5 - so 2 afternoons off instead of 1 full day. Then cut my hours a bit so I worked 2 full days a 3 half days.

I loved the half days - felt like I got a really good amount of time with her, picking her up from nursery about 1-1.30pm after her nap, and on more days of the week.

Also the getting out of the house in the morning thing was never a big deal for us because DD was always up for the day not much after 6am so mornings were never a rush. If your DD usually sleeps in and it'll be a rush in the mornings then that could be part of the consideration for option 1.

I agree with this I think.

I’d rather have 4 full days free to spend with my child . Would much prefer only to be in work 3 days rather than 4, something will crop up and you’ll be asked to stay later on those days so for me it would be option 1.

I think I would take the half-days off. Nicer for your DD to have shorter days in nursery.