Like many, I started in babysitting. One kid or many, evenings or weekends.The first stint that sticks in my memory: New Year's Eve while in 8th grade in Rio de Janerio. 3 kids, from 6 pm to 2 am. Made the equivalent of about $2 per hour.

From there I worked my way up the scale and through the years. In High School, I was a sought after sitter... I came with toys and books for the kids. I knew how to keep them entertained. I could cook basic meals. By Senior year, I was making $5 an hour for my regular gig (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from the time the kids got out of elementary school until 6:30 when their folks got home from work.

During college, I worked on campus in the computer lab for a few hours a week, true. But the bulk of my pocket money came from watching the professor's kids. There were a group of 4 or 6 of us who watched the kids for a couple of the computer science professors. One of us could be found at each house close to 6 nights a week. By this point, I was making $5 an hour. The kids were so much a part of my life that most of them were in my wedding.

Babysitting got me through some rough times. I never went back once I graduated... Or rather, I never charged for it again. I have been know to borrow a kid or two at times over the last couple of decades, but I don't make money at it any more.

Babysitting taught me a lot that matters in my life now: How to explain things so that anyone could understand. How to do 3 or more things at once. How to hug and kiss a hurt away. How to discipline with logic that even a kid could understand. How to keep my head.

Not to mention that I still can make a pretty good kid's meal - I just prefer to have my husband do it.