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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I'm the OP and I really appreciate all the comments.  We had two great APs before this one, so I think I got complacent and just figured she would be great too, so I let things slide.  I didn't realize that rematching after 6 months would be difficult - because you can only match with rematch girls that want to stay only 6 months?

11:59 - I almost wish our AP would say she was uncomfortable with us and wanted to leave early.  Obviously it's easier said than done, but I feel like if she said that, I'd tell her to please leave early, as in now.  You don't want to pay someone to hang out with your kids who has professed her discomfort.  Any reason you're hanging in there for the summer?  Just because it's not such a long time?

I'm going to email our LCC just to give her a confidential heads up that we're not thrilled.  I also don't think I'll ever have an AP start out with so few hours.  There are weeks she's worked 20 hours and it's just not been enough structure for her to keep busy.  We'll need her more over the summer, but I will definitely not be expecting anyone else to work so little time.

I think it almost contributed to her laziness - she literally will sleep or be on her computer all day until she has the kids in the afternoon.  Maaaaybe she'll drive to meet her friend at Starbucks for an hour.  I want to scream "you are in a great city totally free of responsibilities and you have literally all day until 3pm to do whatever you want and you use it to sleep, sit in Starbucks, and Skype with friends back home??"

She also goes out until really really late at night, I assume because she doesn't need to wake up at all the next morning, and I think that's contributing to her fatigue during the day - she's always complaining that she didn't sleep well and doesn't feel good.   I was hoping she'd use all that free time to check out the city or go to class or something.  But I think it's just aided her laziness.

This has definitely been a learning year for me.

[/quote]
I don't think it sounds mean; you are frustrated, and our experience has been that the APs who show no interest in exploring their new city and making new friends show deficiencies in childcare tasks as well.  Generally, it seems that a happy, well-rounded, socially-engaged AP is a better AP.  It's hard to show cheerfulness and initiative at work when you aren't happy in your outside life.

On the difficulty of the 6 months left rematch - it may be hard to find someone who only has six months left, but that actually doesn't limit you; if you were going to get another AP after this one anyway, you could get an AP who is in rematch after just one or two months, and then you would have that AP for her remaining ten months (plus extension if that works out).  Or if you only wanted 6 more months, there may be extension (not rematch) APs available soon who are only looking for a six month extension.  There are lots of possibilities.[/quote]

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