As you probably know I left teaching. To me you do have to be dedicated to it completely to be a good teacher. I became dsillusioned with it all at secondary level - the constant classroom discipline/management and never being able to just get on and teach finished it for me. It became really depressing - to the extent that I actually find being in a prison a more pleasant and rewarding experience! And I am not joking with that either.
However if you are dedicated and you really do want to do it, then it can be a great career with lots of rewards despite the long hours and high levels of work, and potential stress levels.
My first few years I love it! I had the time to put in the work, and the impetus to keep going. And the school I was in provided the support, which is essential IME.
As for if it is family friendly...this is a strange one.
In as far as holidays go then yes it is. You get above average holidays and the majority will tie in with your own child's holidays. You do need to be aware, however, that ot all holidays, even within the same LEA, may match up every year, and INSETs will not necessarily be on the same days too. So you need to have child care arrangements to cover these situations.
You will also need child care for before and after school, as you need to arrive at school before the time you would drop your own child off at school. Similarly at the end of the day you will be at school after your own children finish school. Plan to have at least one night where you will be in a eeting, lasting about an hour at a time.
At secondary I think you often get away with working at home, much more so than at school. And your work load varies greatly with the time of year. I found Easer holidas a very heavy work load time due to GCSE and GNVQ coursework deadlines and end of year moderation.
On a day to day basis at secondary I would plan to be in school for about 8am, maybe earlier if you have an early start such as 8:30am as I did. I would then plan to be able to leave at about 4:30-5pm depending on meetings and what time school actually ends. Some days you can get away earlier, esp if you can take your work home.
I would factor in at least 1 hour prep/work to do per night at home - this will be more in the first few years IME. And factor in about half a day per weekend.
I worked PT, 3 days a week. As anyone who works PT knows, the work load will not be exactly proportionate to that ratio - it will be higher!
And remember that you cannot take time off for things like your own child's sports day, plays, Christmas concerts, etc. If I was still working I would have missed all but one of the activities DD was involved in last year. I didn't want to miss out on these thing so for me being out of it is a positive.
Child sickness is okay though - teachers usually get a set number of days that they can take off each year for dependant's care inc own child sickness.
If you opt for FE or adult education the situation may be more flexible but again it depends where you work. I am very lucky in prison education - which is a demand area BTW, as I can take my 12 weeks holiday when I choose and I have more choice over how many hours I work.
So, I have waffled on loads there, lol! Hope at least some of it is useful. Good luck with whatever you chose.