I think 4am is asking too much of an employee. She will be exhausted and in a bad mood - not what you want from someone looking after your kids.

Just clear up the work hours and responsibilities in your interview process. “Our family will need AP to participate in early morning activities due to our kids sports schedule. We will need you to drive our daughter at 4:30am.....etc. You will then be free from 8am - x time.”

I think the only issue would be if you weren’t transparent about this up front. Also, many non-Americans will be unfamiliar with the American youth approach to sports and these kinds of hours. It definitely isn’t mainstream outside of the USA. Perhaps for Olympic bound athletes? My friend did the 4:30 swim gig for years with 3 kids and none of them ended up even swimming in college. Anyway, you may just need to explain the sports culture. My son plays travel soccer and we have had to explain the nutty schedule to all of our APs.

Anonymous wrote:This is where carpools come really handy. All the swimming parents I know have a pretty well-oiled system for carpooling...

We used to, but now the kids we carpooled with are driving themselves but are not allowed to drive non-family members so we have a year plus of being on our own.

This is where carpools come really handy. All the swimming parents I know have a pretty well-oiled system for carpooling...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD leaves for swimming 3 times a week at 4:30. We do not ever have AP drop off but we do have her pick up at 6:30 (leaving our house at 6:10). Our whole household is up at 6 and either she is getting one child ready for school and leabinfnwirh him at 6:30 or she is leaving at 6:10 to get Dd from practice, so it’s 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of another. As long as she know she is part of a team making things work and doesn’t feel like it’s all on her, we have never heard a peep of complaint.

How miserable. I hope your daughter is Olympic bound.

It is miserable - for us parents! She loves it.

My high school swim team had 4 am practices everyday since the school didn’t have a pool- pretty typical for area I lived

Anonymous wrote: My AP was friends with another AP whose entire job, really, was to cart teenagers to swim in the morning. She worked from 4-8 in the morning and did occasional evening sports runs. She was happy, and she had a boyfriend that she hung out with at night, and she slept all day.

I can see this working well. If AP is asked to do sports run at 4, pick up at 6 and help with morning until drop off at school, then afternoon too? No way, not even if the weekly hours are under 30!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD leaves for swimming 3 times a week at 4:30. We do not ever have AP drop off but we do have her pick up at 6:30 (leaving our house at 6:10). Our whole household is up at 6 and either she is getting one child ready for school and leabinfnwirh him at 6:30 or she is leaving at 6:10 to get Dd from practice, so it’s 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of another. As long as she know she is part of a team making things work and doesn’t feel like it’s all on her, we have never heard a peep of complaint.

How miserable. I hope your daughter is Olympic bound.

It is miserable - for us parents! She loves it.

Anonymous wrote:DD leaves for swimming 3 times a week at 4:30. We do not ever have AP drop off but we do have her pick up at 6:30 (leaving our house at 6:10). Our whole household is up at 6 and either she is getting one child ready for school and leabinfnwirh him at 6:30 or she is leaving at 6:10 to get Dd from practice, so it’s 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of another. As long as she know she is part of a team making things work and doesn’t feel like it’s all on her, we have never heard a peep of complaint.

How miserable. I hope your daughter is Olympic bound.

My AP was friends with another AP whose entire job, really, was to cart teenagers to swim in the morning. She worked from 4-8 in the morning and did occasional evening sports runs. She was happy, and she had a boyfriend that she hung out with at night, and she slept all day.

DD leaves for swimming 3 times a week at 4:30. We do not ever have AP drop off but we do have her pick up at 6:30 (leaving our house at 6:10). Our whole household is up at 6 and either she is getting one child ready for school and leabinfnwirh him at 6:30 or she is leaving at 6:10 to get Dd from practice, so it’s 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of another. As long as she know she is part of a team making things work and doesn’t feel like it’s all on her, we have never heard a peep of complaint.

Good points. Thank you! It is a possibility I will wake anyway and if so, is it worth not driving.

Anonymous wrote:And if yes, how do you do the schedule? I’m assuming if I give them AP a before school sports run shift I’d have to have very few hours in order for the AP not to hate the job. Thoughts?

Maybe alternate weeks or she does the drop-off and goes back to sleep and you pick up (if not too far away). We did this for a while, though I was always conscious of whether child/AP left on time even when I was "sleeping in." If you can sleep through the coming and going though, it might be more helpful.

And if yes, how do you do the schedule? I’m assuming if I give them AP a before school sports run shift I’d have to have very few hours in order for the AP not to hate the job. Thoughts?