With the arrival of child #3, babyrock, my wife decided she would try "baby sitting" for a while.
A couple of decades later, she runs a certified NYS licensed home day care center. With the education and certification, and ridiculous state compliance requirements, she has stayed ahead of the monster.
Don't ever call her a baby sitter unless you want your ass kicked.
She is the person who has your child 8-10 hours a day. She teaches them manners, potty trains them, does frequent field trips, has all kinds of craft projects, has just started teaching the toddlers simple computer usage. She cares for them when they are sick, and consoles them when they are having a bad day. She works at it 10 hours a day and does not sit much.
Pay is OK, no complaints. I am surprised when parents complain about her rates, which are in a median range. She has told people if they want to save 5 dollars a week they are free to go to the nearest kid processing center and save $250 a year. She screens child and parents BEFORE they start. If the chemistry is not there, they do NOT get placed.
She is her own boss, and is married to her backup daycare provider, repair man, accountant and tax advisor.
Saturday night we ran into one of her former "kids" - he is head chef at a nice restaurant now! She helped him deal with his parents divorce and later with his father's death from cancer. Sixteen years after he was "her kid" during the day, he rushed over and gave her a big hug and kiss.
Me? I work for a dot com in the cube mole life, but work with good people.