Maro, you don't say what age the youngest child is. Once they are about 4 or 5 (over the toddler stage) then you are over the worst, and the children will get more independent.
Being off work is nice for the summer, but what if you dont find a suitable job by Autumn. Being off work for the winter is a bit depressing, even if there is childminding and housework to do.
You should think about term time/changing hours before giving up a job. If you looked for another job after a few months, you would have to explain why you gave up this job at interviews. Also, I notice a lot of the jobs available are at a low level, and part time work is very hard to come by. You could in a worst case scenario, end up working full time for a much lower hourly rate than you do now. I don't know what sector you work in, but customer care jobs are flexible i.e. working late in the evenings, the work can be stressful, and the starting salary is quite low.
However, on the other hand, if work and the status of earning X amount of money doesn't matter to you, then you could give up work, and you would eventually pick up something, albeit at a lower hourly rate.
If you value having a career long term (i.e. 10 or 15 yrs), then to step off now, would mean it could be hard to get to such a level of pay again.
I got made redundant 4 yrs ago, was earning about 28K then (which was considered good at the time. The only jobs I could get were for 18K and 20K. I had to fight to get to 23K with my ex employer. Currently on 28K but I work over the 40hrs for this, and I work at a fast pace (no spare time at work for tea breaks).
Being off work is nice for the summer, but what if you dont find a suitable job by Autumn. Being off work for the winter is a bit depressing, even if there is childminding and housework to do.
You should think about term time/changing hours before giving up a job. If you looked for another job after a few months, you would have to explain why you gave up this job at interviews. Also, I notice a lot of the jobs available are at a low level, and part time work is very hard to come by. You could in a worst case scenario, end up working full time for a much lower hourly rate than you do now. I don't know what sector you work in, but customer care jobs are flexible i.e. working late in the evenings, the work can be stressful, and the starting salary is quite low.
However, on the other hand, if work and the status of earning X amount of money doesn't matter to you, then you could give up work, and you would eventually pick up something, albeit at a lower hourly rate.
If you value having a career long term (i.e. 10 or 15 yrs), then to step off now, would mean it could be hard to get to such a level of pay again.
I got made redundant 4 yrs ago, was earning about 28K then (which was considered good at the time. The only jobs I could get were for 18K and 20K. I had to fight to get to 23K with my ex employer. Currently on 28K but I work over the 40hrs for this, and I work at a fast pace (no spare time at work for tea breaks).