Most non-traders would expect you to fail at something so difficult so I doubt they would look down on it. TO them it is like saying you took 6 months off to try out for the NBA and decided you could not do it. Makes an interesting interview but no harm no foul for most I would think.
A resume and your experiences are what you make of it. If you show the trading time as a negative, it will be a negative. If you show that you ran a business and learned from your mistakes, it can be a great positive. Or, just tell them you took time off as others have stated. That's the easy way out, but I think you could turn it into a real positive after some thought.
LEAVE OUT daytrading on your resume'. it sounds reckless to most people unfortunately. a better way of approiaching trading as a career once you have kids and a family is to start off part time and slow. once you build a successful strategy you can embark on a trading career.imo
i resigned from my job in apr 2002 to trade full-time. quit trading in mid 2005 and was rehired by my company. i didn't list day trading on my resume. i did start a web-based bizness and i put that down to fill in the period from 2002-2005.