Aibu to not know which job to take? So confused!

[AnxiousAngela]

So I'm just returning to work after being a stay at home mum for quite some time now after leaving a well paid job to be at home so I feel completely out of my depth in either position but would appreciate any help!
My children are 5 and 8 and I have been offered 2 positions.
One is as a night worker in sainsburys, 2 nights a week midweek.
Initially I thought this was great as I could sleep in the daytime when they're at school and use holiday clubs if need be in the holidays.
However the spanner was then thrown in by me being offered a job in a nursery.
The hours are 9-1 every day which would mean the children having to use the before school club at a charge of £10 a day ( for both ) and as it runs all year round, also using a holiday club ( there is one on site that would charge £25 a day for them both )
My head tells me to take the nursery job, that the benefits of it being all year round mean I can take days off for sports days, nativities and so on however the thought of having to use a holiday club every day throughout the holidays isn't appealing especially as my youngest isn't a fan of being away from me at the best of times and so will dislike both holiday clubs and before school club.
Money wise the nursery is more money but when taken into account all the extras they even out.
What would you do??

Sainsbury - simply because its stable, pension scheme, share options, future maternity pay, family days leave, sick pay and you can vary your hours later, pick up hours, change hours, increase your hours - and you will receive CPD.

I would do the nights .
As that is what I did . Meant I was there when they were sick ( mine where a lot)
But
I was walking zomie and don't remember those years at all.

Do you want to do childcare/education related jobs? (what's the role)
Will either of them get you closer to things you want to do in the future?

FWIW, whilst night shifts are not great for your health longer term, I'd possibly do that, so as not to have to work every day.

Ideally I would like to work in the daytime as to spend the evenings and nights with them and would like to work in childcare.
Job is practitioner and can qualify whilst working so could be good long term but dreading them getting sick and having to call in myself as we don't have any nearby family.
The holidays are going to be a nightmare either way, either paying out loads in holiday clubs or being completely wiped if I chose sainsburys or having to go into work every morning so spending £125 a week on childcare for 4 hours a day on a Holiday club in the nursery!

I honestly don't know how much of a future there is in private day nurseries. I've left that sector after 20 years.

The money isn't great, especially if you are training, the hours are long, the paperwork is crippling and now the Government are peddling funded hours as free, resulting in many nurseries being forced to close.

I'd take the night job at Sainsbury's or find another childcare related job, Childminder, Play worker in a hospital, Nanny etc.

My friend does two nights a week at Tesco. Starts at 8pm, finishes at 8am. She starts work once DS has gone to bed, gets home at 830, takes him to school, goes home sleeps till 3, fetches him from school, gives him dinner, plays till 7, Dad does bath and bed and she goes to work. She gets paid more than I did in a nursery, the job was stress free and she's able to do all the school runs and cover all holidays as she's there in the day. The days she works nights her DS goes to holiday club for 5 hours or to friends.

Thanks for replying.
The problem is that 5 hours times 2 children is going to cost me £60 a day! So £120 a week so the same as them going to holiday club every morning as the reduced cost of me working in the nursery.
Just to add it's a government job as working within a private prep school just in the nursery and pre school rather than standard day nursery if that makes any difference, just feels a little more secure than a supermarket!

Sounds like you want the nursery job!

Good luck with it. I think it depends how old you are too? I'm at the point now where I pick my work to fit in with my life and I'm planning to stop work at 55/60 and I'm 36. I started up my own babysitting service 10 years ago and it's at a point where I can cut down my day working hours.

If you're at a point where you are going to be working for the 30 plus years, then you need something you won't tire of and childcare is an amazing job if you appreciate all the babies and little ones that come into your life.

20 years in private settings has done me in! Especially when it's such a hard job but one that many people don't appreciate and think that it's not worthwhile because of the low pay!