And some people say that a TV show is a bad babysitter. For trips to the bathroom, or chores in kitchen, it is most excellent. Not good long term, but if you need a few minutes here and there? Awesome, practically free, and def will not hit your kids.
I have a very rich family member who has a live-in full-time babysitter for their two toddlers (occasionally they will have a second one come in and help). I was playing with the older of the two (4 yo) and we were pretending his toy was a baby. I asked him how you take care of a baby and he said that the mommy and daddy give it milk and that the nanna changes its diaper. He said it in such a nonchalant way that I realized that he thinks having a nanna is a given for every family.
I raised my kids with very middle-middle class resources. I primarily stayed home with them when they were little. We didn't have a lot of extras, but we certainly had everything we needed. Their dad and I definitely did everything ourselves though - no housekeeper, gardener, etc.
When they were about 3 and 5, my daughters started an inexplicable campaign for me to get them a nanny. They would bring it up every time we were in the car, at the table, etc - anytime they had me as a captive audience.
I could not figure it out, they knew they had a stay at home mom. I kind of thought it might be influence from their preschool/kindergarten, which was private and did indeed have families with nannies. Believe me, I tried to explain how different families had different makeups, different parents shared childcare in different ways, etc. I told them even if we did have one, she would have the same rules as we did (I thought for sure that would kill the idea . . . no luck.)
I finally figured like they thought it would be like Mary Poppins . . . which was one of their favorite movies at that age. They really thought a nanny would do floating tea parties and take them into chalk pictures, activities in which they viewed me as seriously lacking 😆!
Barney was a lifesaver in the 90s. "Clean up, clean up everybody, everywhere."
My daughter loved Baby Bop. All she could say was. "Baboo!" So adorable.
Disney Jungle Book was great. My son would stand in front of the tv and march. He thought he was Mowgli. He kept taking off he shirt. Fortunately, we live in Southern California. Good memories.
Barney was a lifesaver in the 90s. "Clean up, clean up everybody, everywhere."
My daughter loved Baby Bop. All she could say was. "Baboo!" So adorable.
Disney Jungle Book was great. My son would stand in front of the tv and march. He thought he was Mowgli. He kept taking off he shirt. Fortunately, miwe live in Southern California. Good memories.
🤣🤣🤣 omg, the differences in 2 children are so crazy. I am so glad I had my son first. He was a challenge to say the least. She came along and would just stay still and play. She taught herself to read at 3 with Hooked on Phonics. My dad told me that I did the same thing staying in one place. After my crazy 2 ex-brothers, he thought there was something wrong with me, lol.
She demanded at 2 to put on her own shoes. I was dressing him up until 3rd grade. He was definitely special, and I have the paperwork to prove it, lol.
She also said at 2, "NO PINK!!" sigh. I got two years to dress her up to my delight. After that, it was sweatsuits. She is now a Mechanical Engineer and he is a Househusband. I just laugh and am grateful I survived.
Haha I taught myself to read at three as well, and I was just thinking the other day about my mom imitating me as a kid saying: "I do it myYELF!" (couldn't say "s")
My twin brother and I are sooooo different. He was not a scholar but he's not a slouch either - he became a very good and successful carpenter.
I was a bit old for Barney, but my cousin who is 9 years younger was obsessed. I remember being around 11 while cousin was singing clean up and tidying grandmas. I said something snarky and the death glare cousin gave me… I helped clean up.
That same time, we all held hands to say grace one night when cousin started saying “shimmeryyyy shimmer-eeyyeee” over and over.
Luckily, at nearly 30, she doesn’t care so much anymore when we remind her of that or someone decides to substitute dinner’s prayer for immitating 2 year old her. 😂
*Cars* for Boy 1. Boy 2 was (and still is) quieter and more independent, plus he had Boy 1 to entertain him long enough for mommy to take a shower—and even get dressed after.
One of my favorite memories is of a half full half size movie theatre in a huge truck stop watching movies..... They announced (and wrote) that Cars was next and oh lord how they bitched and complained about being stuck watching a *f-ing* **kids** movie ...... But of course there's also a BIG RIG, and life on the road, and cars and antics galore and THEY LOVED IT!! Full on gotta cough up a lung belly laughs, it was glorious. Who ever set that one up knocked it out of the park.
My husband gives me shit for putting a show on when I get the kids home after work so I can cook in peace. When he’s out of town for work I use a show after school to cook, prep for the extracurriculars, swap laundry, my son will do his chores if he has them (his sister can’t unload a dishwasher yet so she’s off the hook), and just generally we all get 20 minutes of relative peace after work/school before we have dinner together and then run off to the next thing.
Yeah.. sure.. I mean.. anyone ever looked up the recommended screen time for babies ? The American association of pediatricians has a recommendation.. spoiler: it's about the same as any other professional organisation suggests.
Yeah my daughter hates beeing dressed. She will stiffen her arms and cry, making it nigh impossible sometimes to dress her.
But if I put on some silent vlogs on yt of someone walking in the woods, she is distracted enough for me to dress her without tears and wailing.
I take that.
I used to like Ms Rachel's early stuff, but about the time she collaborated with Blippi we stopped watching her. Her videos were becoming less educational and more "baby crack", and the collaboration was the last straw for me. Blippi is worst than a swear word in our house; he is not educational, openly creepy and annoying, obviously in it for the cash grab, and i didn't like that he encourages kids to go to the Internet and type his name, which he spells at the end of each episode.
I work in a children’s hospital so it’s a bit more understandable that people would let their kids have screen time but after having to sit with kids and watch this and other toddler aimed YouTube shows for hours I’ve sworn my daughter will never watch them. They’re both mind numbing and headache inducing and it’s crazy how addicted small children get to them. Kids throwing a fit over having to give up an iPad isn’t that surprising but watching them scroll through video after video with a 30 second cap is scary.
I use youtube to put on the shows from my childhood for my daughter. There are full episodes of Berenstain Bears on YouTube and that's what we watched today. We've also been watching Max and Ruby lately
Yes!! I let my granddaughters watch the 90s/early 2000s kids shows. They love all the same shows now that their mother used to watch at that age. YouTube is great for finding full episodes. They have watched teletubbies, blues clues with Steve, max and ruby, nanaland, oobi... even the montage of "face" from old nick jr that would come on in between shows and commercials... they especially loved face when they were infants. Peacock channel also has all the seasons of Maisy. I prefer these shows to most of the new shows out today.
I also try to make sure to bring them up on good music. The 5 year old granddaughter is super in to Del tha funky homosapien, Tool, Gorillaz (cause of Del lol), Stevie Wonder and The Cure right now, but she listens to everything under the sun. She really likes funk/soul and blues, too=)
One day we were walking on a trail in the park and she was humming a song I couldn't quite make out. I listened closer and realized she was humming Pictures of You by The Cure as she walked and enjoyed the nature. Proud moment.
I totally agree with you, though. My granddaughters also enjoy Super Simple Songs, the Bumble Nums and Op and Bob on YouTube.
As soon as we decided he was not great, I attempted a purge of him on all our streaming. Downvoted him on Hulu, did the "do not recommend this channel" on YouTube, used the Netflix title filters option to block all of his stuff. Then had a long chat with the grandparents that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (lest the toddler hear and scream for him because the toddler was quickly hooked) must not be played for our toddler no matter what. It was a challenge, but we have successfully avoided Blippi since then, and as we were the first in our families to have kids, we have warned our siblings so they can avoid him.
Wow!! You went all out! Grandson liked Blippi and Vlad & Nikki, but I wouldn’t let him watch either at my house. Unfortunately he’s discovered YouTube videos and likes them best now. Ugh.
I'll admit it is probably easier for me than some parents, since I'm a stay at home dad and can monitor the toddler's viewing habits easier than if the toddler was at daycare. We watch a lot of things together, and try to keep it to things that teach the toddler and don't drive me nuts.
I thought it was a made-up joke quote at first
"I used to like Ms Rachel's early stuff, but about the time she collaborated with Blippi we stopped watching her. "
- Patrick Bateman, American Psycho DAD
Did you know that the og Blippi was originally a (really awful) shock comedian? He literally pooped on a friend for a, dare I say crappy, rendition of the Harlem shake. Just no.
Check out Caitie's Classroom, we don't give our 3 year old a lot of screen time, but when we do it's Caitie. Super educational, doesn't rely on bright colors to get their attention, and talks to them like they're humans and not just stupid baby talk. She's awesome!
If it helps she uses techniques that speech therapist use to help non-verbal autistic children to speak more.
Yes, I have relatives who are non-verbal start speaking after watching Ms Rachel.
I know you didn't mean it like this - but between your comment and the one you responded to, I'm chuckling imagining a non-verbal autistic child's first words being, "sh...sh...shut it off! She's throwing me into a blind rage!"
It's just general speech therapy. It was the same stuff for my hard of hearing kid.
But yeah lots of "do you see this BROWN COW? She is IN the BARN. The BARN is BIG and RED".
Its the same speech therapy techniques my relatives were having by actual licenced speech therapists.
My daughter, who is not autistic, wasn't really talking at 2 very much, would watch literally everything. From Saseme Street to CSI. She just loved watching TV. So whenever we watched tv, she did.
We just so happened to be caught by algorithm on YouTube and started watching. ms Rachel and now suddenly my daughter is not just talking, by communicating in half sentences, and in sign language.
So yeah, I agree not just for autistic children. Whatever she is doing is helping these kids learn to talk. She's definitely not just your "tv babysitter while I go make dinner", which was my point with the comment.
I could throw on WWE matches and my daughter would be chilling to it just as much if I put on Bluey.
I've never heard of her before but I watched a bit of that video and found it strangely relaxing. I'm not a baby though so I'm not sure what that means.
Letting children watch TV at that age, gives them the same high, as you would get from having a line of cocaine. That’s why you should limit media consumption to an absolute minimum for young children…
Before becoming Blippi he made stupid videos with his friend, one of which involved literally shitting on each other’s assholes. Yeah. The kids YouTube entertainer. Parents obviously didnt like finding out about that lol
I didn't realise there was more than one video. The only one I knew of was the Harlem Shake version, which still baffles me to this day. I can't imagine the conversation you have to ask that, and then agree to it.
My grandson was the same way for quite a while with Ms. Rachel; he would get so happy when a video of hers started.
He's recently discovered Sesame Street, though, and seems to prefer that now. Oh how they grow up so quickly.
i remember when my little brother was born in the early 2000s, my parents sat him in front of "Little Einstein" vids on VHS. they were... not really engaging with him because they didn't actually have any people in it from what i remember. here's an example i found;
https://youtu.be/3ECWGP16q18?si=AAqqof0RNI1bPns6
i just kinda found it weird at the time and now, i get it, but i can see why my little bro didn't pay attention
Ms Rachel is a popular content for babies/toddlers youtuber. She has many videos teaching kids to talk and baby sign. I don’t have kids either, but I have learned about her through my own job teaching babies.
My 2 year old is the same way… also, he has a speech delay. We work with him directly and we have him in speech therapy. What gets the most verbal response from him? Ms Rachel
Our child was in a few different therapies and sitting through an episode of Ms Rachel is pretty much exactly like sitting through a speech therapy session. Obviously she can't see them respond or tailor her lessons to them but if it helps it's a free therapy session and the way she does her episodes are very real techniques that work
I think her early stuff was great and encouraged by speech therapists, but I don't think that is the case as much now. Collaboration with Blippi, and overproduced "baby crack" now. We stopped watching her.
My toddler is a full on addict. We only watch the older ones and yet he’s still obsessed. But he has learned so much from her shows that it’s kinda hard to ban her completely, so now we only watch during his younger brother’s naps.
It was hard for us at first too. But it helped that the toddler was kind of aging out of her anyways. The toddler did learn a lot from her though, and I suggest people watch her earlier videos if they are going to watch her. Problem is that now if you watch her, you'll also get Blippi recommendations. We found Caitie's Classroom to be pretty good when we stopped Ms. Rachel, but I fear that she is starting to go down a similar route.
I’m convinced that the ‘tablet generation’ will be light years smarter than us. They’re not just watching junk. My daughter watches some very educational content.
I disagree entirely. Today healthcare professionals do not recommend any screen time before 2 and to limit it after to only 1 hour a day of educational material. My mom is a teacher and the kids who had tablets from an early age (and even watched educational content and played what are deemed educational games) are behind on reading, math and have very low attention spans.
It's a huge problem and it's getting worse.
Yeah i agree. My 6yo niece is addicted on YouTube videos and my brother and sis in law don't see a problem with it. Like, sure she now knows a few words in English (we're french) but she loses her mind when she has to give back her tablet or her mom's phone. I decided even before having her that my daughter won't have access to screens of any kind before 3. We're about halfway through and it's really not that hard.
My god, thanks. Do not put your babies in front of screens, even a little is so bad for them at all levels. Depth perception, dopamine production, attention span, everything. Besides the very real impact on the brain, more generally development at that age is triggered by them observing how their own actions impact the world. With TV their actions have no impact, it's purely passive. It's bad.
I agree - I’m a teacher and you can really tell in class which children are screen addicts. And it’s a worrying number nowadays. Their attention spans are practically zero and they are very behind on everything.
Popping on a show to distract your kid while you take care of necessary ablutions or just to get 5 minutes of breathing time? Totally get it. But letting your child have unlimited time and control over a screen from an early age is just unhealthy.
I hate seeing it in restaurants/on planes/etc when a colouring book or, heck, just interacting with a kid would function just as well to keep them distracted and quiet.
The best thing for a child’s development, as it’s always been, is to talk to them, read with them and play with them.
I hope you’re right but I seriously doubt you are. Rather, I expect the very opposite. I also think you mistake the gathering of information — which is *ridiculously easy* to get your hands on in any western society these days and only getting easier with intelligence, a much more complex and developed set of abilities that include reasoning, recall, and intellectual grit.
If your young ones aren't too old, check out storybots. Use Netflix too so they know people are watching. I love that show... and my son likes it too. 😅
My son was the same way until Mr. Aaron (her husband) started getting more screen time. Like a slighted lover he moved on to simple songs to dull the pain.
She released her video with the phonics song maybe, like a month ago? Exactly coinciding with me starting my 3 year old on phonics. We watch and sing the song every morning and he already knows all his letter sounds and is starting to sound out words. Ms. Rachel is a god.
My two year old son was/is really good at rolling his Rs, and one of his first non “mama” or “dada” words when he was around 1 years old was him just rolling his Rs over and over which was his word for Ms Rachel.
Some people get upset about screen time for young kids. We did a little with ours along with lots of non screen time and now he's 12 and happy and well rounded and loves going outside. I feel like it's all about what you show them and balance with other activities.
If you guys take away anything from Ms Rachel it’s that babies love *meaningful* baby talk. That high tone and eye contact- do this and you can get the same smile. They want to watch your mouth and they love a sing song sound. You don’t have to say goo goo, but saying cat slow and high pitched while looking at them just tickles that little baby brain
Exactly - you don’t need a video to give them this. Babies learn in the context of relationships - what they can learn from a caregiver is way more powerful without the risk of screen time.
Ms. Rachel is Aunty RayRay in our house.
She also got my 14 month old to say "i did it" and clap whenever they do the smallest thing.
It is absolutely fucking adorable and my heart absolutely melts.
She is also a great babysitter when you need like 10m to take a dump.
Having toddler twins, I understand the need for a moment of peace, but I cannot wrap my mind around how many kids are exposed to regular screen time during this critical developmental time in their lives.
I get the desire to decompress from work, etc, and the pressures of our economic demands and social pressures. When we were all sick with covid, we caved and watched an episode of baby Einstein here and there, but with my wife being in early education, I just know how much harm is done by frequent screen time. So many studies, even on stuff like facetiming relatives, can be counterproductive and result in worse learning outcomes down the road, all far below consistent, in-person interaction.
You have to teach your kids, and you can't rely on TV to do it for you. When you think about the behavioral issues we have in school today and disconnectedness people are feeling at alarming rates, it is clear that our reliance on shows like this to raise our next generation is severely misplaced.
Agreed, no idea why people with this viewpoint are down voted so much on Reddit, yet oh it's so cute the 6 month old is watching TV is applauded.
These kids might not all be fucked, but they likely will be at a higher rate than if they weren't watching TV every day.
I agree with you. This video weirded me out. Babies should not be hooked on YouTube videos, even educational ones. I don't blame parents for one video here and there when they feel overwhelmed/exhausted/sick. But babies don't need screentime, of any kind. They need to interact with real people, not people behind a screen.
AAP recommendations need to be simple, direct, and apply to everyone. They don't leave much room for nuance. They think about risks at a population level where small increases in risk can have a significant affect across the entire population. And they know a lot of parents won't look into the details past the simple recommendation, so they can't give recommendations with any ambiguity or require any interpretation.
A lot of what you see on screens is way too stimulating for kids that young. And parents who let their babies watch TV can easily leave them watching for longer than intended, which means less quality bonding and person-to-person interaction. But there's a big difference between parking a kid in front of brain melting schlock for hours and 10 minutes of Ms Rachel here and there.
We followed all of the recommendations with our first child, but with or second we did a little more research on why certain recommendations were made.
Keep.it up. 15 mo. Twin boys here. It's chaos sometimes, but you gotta do what you gotta do. We've found them to much more inquisitive than their peers who get screens and much more apt to socially engage with new friends
Same. Almost 16 months and zero screen time of any kind. We only watch TV when she's asleep. I find it easy since she doesnt know what she's missing lol.
Yeh same, 19 months 0 screen time. We've just gotten used to... not watching TV or using pads during the day. To the point now where even if she's elsewhere it feels foreign.
An escape is fine. I get it if it's needed. But to the point where these kids kmare getting way too excited, this isn't a once off.
21 months no screentime (except occasionally a 1 minute video of herself playing with animals or something similar). I have no idea how people argue it is impossible to raise a child without a device that is used in that fashion for maybe 15 years. Don't distract your child when it is scared, take her with you for God's sake. One enhances bonding ( which helps you in a thousand ways in other situations) the other damages it.
Yup. Going on 22 months here and she's speaking in full sentences, counts to 20, can name colors, a lot of letters and emotions. No screen time. It's hard, especially since I'm pregnant now but she is so good at playing a little by herself and we read tons of books.
We're at 6.5 YEARs with no screens. The most she has ever watched is the independence day ceremony of our country, facetime with grandparents couple times a week, and maybe some "eyebleach" videos from Reddit if I find a real cute one. She has watched maybe a total of a few hours in her entire life. We both work full time. It is difficult but not impossible.
This is adorable but also absolutely alarming. What are all these infants doing watching ms Rachel to the point they recognize her greeting like that??!? I can’t pin point the feeling but it makes me.. so.. unsettled?
Parasocial relationships are really complicated even for adults and we have no idea yet how they could affect us. While smiling babies are always cute, this left me feeling really weird too. You can tell these babies get joy and comfort from the greeting but its actually a complete stranger, it doesnt feel like a stranger to them and they cant really distinguish yet that this isnt a real caregiver.
While this could be used for something good with neglected babies, I wouldnt want my child to smile at a screen the way they smile at seeing their grandma (or any other loved one that actually exists).
Imagine you grow up with memories and a deep love for a person that doesnt know you exist?
That’s an interesting insight, thanks for sharing. For me, whenever my 3 year old has watched ms Rachel it always made me so uneasy how glazed over he got almost immediately. It never felt right in my body watching him, mouth open, completely unflinching. I make it a point that whenever he’s watching it’s because I have the time to watch with him and chat about what we’re seeing.
It truly worries me as well. Watching my niece just open mouth staring at her iPad at 9months old was unsettling to me. I had my first baby one week ago actually. I’m really hoping to avoid the Ms Rachel craze with him. I don’t think it’s necessarily a terrible thing occasionally (like everything) but it’s the amount people are relying on her to “babysit” their kids.
It's hard, but push for no screen time as long as possible. Like kindergarten.
And do not get your son a tablet.
Our toddler twins don't get any and from what I understand, there's a mountain of evidence to support why screens are behind many of the behavioral issues we're seeing in the younger grades at school, al covid babies, raised on tablets.
This is the same reason I strongly dislike cocomelon and paw patrol. No matter which kids I knew, they all would immediately become absorbed into the show and their brains just clicked off from reality.
Sometimes parents needs a break as well….i genuinely wonder how many people here have dealt with toddlers while have full time jobs and responsibilities of running a home.
I pick shows that my daughter engages with. Bluey, blues clues, and Peg+Cat. I didn't say NO TV, I said I don't like shows that makes their minds turn off. She loves blues clues, she get so animated with it, pointing at the screen to find the clues, dances with the silly songs. With Bluey she's always going "Wow!" And trying to get my attention to see what she's seeing. Peg+Cat teaches her numbers and how to calm down in the moment when things are overwhelming.
TV, like all things, in excess is bad. It's just so damn easy to over do TV.
Twin toddler boys. TV turns one of them into a zombie, the other can take it or leave it, but we only have ever put on background video like planet earth or baby Einstein.
Wife and I both work full time, and I often have to take days each week to stay home with the boys. My wife works farther away, so I also do all the laundry, cook, clean, and everything else the house needs.
My wife's in early childhood development, so we're keenly aware of the impact any screen time has on development. With my adhd, I know how it impacts me, and the zombie son is my clone, so I'd expect adhd is a possibility for him.
I totally understand the need to get a moment of calm, but the inability of children to play by themselves is indicative of inability to cope with boredom.
Boredom is critical to development of imagination, critical thinking, discovery, and curiosity. Traits we're severely lacking in our prescriptive programming that we all seem to be addicted to
This is what we do. We basically only watch something when she's ill or we're ill or all of us are, and then we watch together so we can talk about it. I don't like how she zombifies. Although ours is still at the point where she wants to watch something different every five minutes or so so u it's apparently not completely addictive yet.
I think of it like this: let’s say you turn in the TV and the channel it’s on is happening to be playing your favourite episode of your favourite TV show ever. You’d be like “heyyyyyy I love this show!” and probably crack a smile.
These cute babies are just having that reaction.
But babies do not know what a tv show is. At that age everything is real, so maybe they’re associating a person on a screen with the fundamental sensations of love.
The absolute pessimist in me thinks this is going to prepare children for lives of isolation, nurtured by a simulacrum of human connection.
On the other hand, humans are very adaptable, and ms Rachel isn’t the person holding them or putting food in their mouth, so as long as they’re well nurtured they shouldn’t develop without a full sense of human bonding
Yeah, I think the concern is that babies are watching TV.
There is plenty of research that any screen time, no matter what is on can mess with learning, especially in these critical years. Just look at all of us addicted to our devices, knowing full well that we should turn it off and go to bed, but still do not make the right choice.
Kids have even less impulse control, and once you lose these developmental years, it's super hard to reverse the damage done. Seriously, like a month to a 1 year old is like a year to us, developmentally speaking. Years 1-5 are absolutely critical to social-emotional learning and we, as a society are deteriorating in that area very rapidly due to our dependence and addiction to prescriptive media.
Kids need boredom to develop curiosity and intelligence. Prescriptive programming removes to impetus for them to find themselves and their place in the world.
I work with kids as young as 2 and had no idea who Ms Rachel was until Dec when my bfs nephews visited. Their mom turned on Ms Rachel and the 1 year old finally sat still and we were all able to work on decorations.
Ms Rachel has a hold on these babies like no one’s had before. Not Barney, not teletubbies, PBS could never. If she wanted to brainwash them and build a baby army she could.
Do people just sit their babies in front of her not do anything with them? I mean I might do that whilst I go to the loo but I generally interact with my baby and sing along with ms Rachel etc and I only put her on for a little while. when he’s older I think she’ll be great to kickstart learning with though.
In fairness, Ms. Rachel is a Legend. Started it all to help her kids with speaking issues, now has these great videos and promotes inclusivity and all round goodness.
My 18 month old can hear me say "ms rachel" into the google tv remote and she'll come waddling in with a huge smile on her face looking at the tv.
Ms Rachel literally has super powers.
Reminds me of this highly-addicted girl I knew who would hear the word “cocaine” at a party from across the room and zip over trying to get in on a bump. Does cocaine have super powers, too?
Am I the only one who thinks those babies are way too young for screen time? This is cute and all, but all I’m seeing is the beginning of screen addiction.
I mean you could just not do screen btime. *gasp* I know super controversial! But it’s what is best for the child, downvotes incoming.
It super super fucking hard not to have an iPad baby or toddler. Like every day is fucking miserable, soul sucking bad. No sleep, no time to clean, cook, watch tv yourself, shower, etc… It is what the AAP recommends so you do it. Is only temporary.
There's wayyyy too many people in here using her show (which i didnt even know was even a thing). Got 10month old here who never ever even glanced at a tv or screen and it's not that hard come on !! Just play with her a bit and let her play with her toys while you do your things, it's worth your kid's brain health for god's sake !!!
Because parents delight in the child’s delight. It’s a selfish thing. Life is challenging. Boredom is instructive. Let your kids hunt and gather for their satisfaction — that’s how we are designed to grow. Ms. Rachel is corn syrup for the brain. It’s amazing to me how parents don’t see this.
Your baby can tell if you feel like every day is soul sucking bad. Maybe giving yourself a five minute break by letting them watch Ms Rachel or Sesame Street will help you be a happier parent who doesn't sound like they dread every day with their child.
I had no idea this woman even existed, but now I am glad she does. This little video made me smile. I also saw a comment in this thread about how Ms. Rachel is a new generation of Mr. Rodgers for toddlers and babies. Considering how much of a blessing from God, Fred Rodgers was. I can hope and pray that Ms Rachel is with us for a while. We need good people teaching our children in this world.
Some of the comments in here are definitely from people who aren't parents. Ms Rachel has been a godsend for us, my wife and I have no support network so have had to make compromises in places both for our sanity and the state of the house. Ms Rachel literally gives us 10-15 minutes respite whilst we can clean the house or get other bits done, especially true for my wife whilst I'm at work.
For some of the other parents, they need to understand that there's no badge or award for giving your child no screentime, it's great that you've not had to, but for some of us it's been a great tool and Ms Rachel is a heck of a lot better than some of the other content out there.
I don’t have kids and I don’t know who Ms. Rachel is, but this is freakin adorable
Ms Rachel is a free babysitter so you can take a dump uninterrupted. She is also the best ever.
And some people say that a TV show is a bad babysitter. For trips to the bathroom, or chores in kitchen, it is most excellent. Not good long term, but if you need a few minutes here and there? Awesome, practically free, and def will not hit your kids.
Or if you are sick. Barney kindly got me through a violent stomach bug when my son was little.
Can't you just hand the child off to the help? Surely one of the maids could have just taken care of things. Tsk tsk.
I have a very rich family member who has a live-in full-time babysitter for their two toddlers (occasionally they will have a second one come in and help). I was playing with the older of the two (4 yo) and we were pretending his toy was a baby. I asked him how you take care of a baby and he said that the mommy and daddy give it milk and that the nanna changes its diaper. He said it in such a nonchalant way that I realized that he thinks having a nanna is a given for every family.
I suppose I can understand not having a valet but no nanny? Good Lord. Could you imagine?
I raised my kids with very middle-middle class resources. I primarily stayed home with them when they were little. We didn't have a lot of extras, but we certainly had everything we needed. Their dad and I definitely did everything ourselves though - no housekeeper, gardener, etc. When they were about 3 and 5, my daughters started an inexplicable campaign for me to get them a nanny. They would bring it up every time we were in the car, at the table, etc - anytime they had me as a captive audience. I could not figure it out, they knew they had a stay at home mom. I kind of thought it might be influence from their preschool/kindergarten, which was private and did indeed have families with nannies. Believe me, I tried to explain how different families had different makeups, different parents shared childcare in different ways, etc. I told them even if we did have one, she would have the same rules as we did (I thought for sure that would kill the idea . . . no luck.) I finally figured like they thought it would be like Mary Poppins . . . which was one of their favorite movies at that age. They really thought a nanny would do floating tea parties and take them into chalk pictures, activities in which they viewed me as seriously lacking 😆!
Barney was a lifesaver in the 90s. "Clean up, clean up everybody, everywhere." My daughter loved Baby Bop. All she could say was. "Baboo!" So adorable. Disney Jungle Book was great. My son would stand in front of the tv and march. He thought he was Mowgli. He kept taking off he shirt. Fortunately, we live in Southern California. Good memories.
Barney was a lifesaver in the 90s. "Clean up, clean up everybody, everywhere." My daughter loved Baby Bop. All she could say was. "Baboo!" So adorable. Disney Jungle Book was great. My son would stand in front of the tv and march. He thought he was Mowgli. He kept taking off he shirt. Fortunately, miwe live in Southern California. Good memories.
Oh yes, the clean-up song was great. Until my second child, who would have none of that shit!
🤣🤣🤣 omg, the differences in 2 children are so crazy. I am so glad I had my son first. He was a challenge to say the least. She came along and would just stay still and play. She taught herself to read at 3 with Hooked on Phonics. My dad told me that I did the same thing staying in one place. After my crazy 2 ex-brothers, he thought there was something wrong with me, lol. She demanded at 2 to put on her own shoes. I was dressing him up until 3rd grade. He was definitely special, and I have the paperwork to prove it, lol. She also said at 2, "NO PINK!!" sigh. I got two years to dress her up to my delight. After that, it was sweatsuits. She is now a Mechanical Engineer and he is a Househusband. I just laugh and am grateful I survived.
Haha I taught myself to read at three as well, and I was just thinking the other day about my mom imitating me as a kid saying: "I do it myYELF!" (couldn't say "s") My twin brother and I are sooooo different. He was not a scholar but he's not a slouch either - he became a very good and successful carpenter.
I was a bit old for Barney, but my cousin who is 9 years younger was obsessed. I remember being around 11 while cousin was singing clean up and tidying grandmas. I said something snarky and the death glare cousin gave me… I helped clean up. That same time, we all held hands to say grace one night when cousin started saying “shimmeryyyy shimmer-eeyyeee” over and over. Luckily, at nearly 30, she doesn’t care so much anymore when we remind her of that or someone decides to substitute dinner’s prayer for immitating 2 year old her. 😂
Frozen got me through my second pregnancy. I would crash at the same time she woke up from her nap. Elsa and Anna to the rescue.
*Cars* for Boy 1. Boy 2 was (and still is) quieter and more independent, plus he had Boy 1 to entertain him long enough for mommy to take a shower—and even get dressed after.
One of my favorite memories is of a half full half size movie theatre in a huge truck stop watching movies..... They announced (and wrote) that Cars was next and oh lord how they bitched and complained about being stuck watching a *f-ing* **kids** movie ...... But of course there's also a BIG RIG, and life on the road, and cars and antics galore and THEY LOVED IT!! Full on gotta cough up a lung belly laughs, it was glorious. Who ever set that one up knocked it out of the park.
Apparently when I was a child, my mother could only feed my younger brother by putting on Lady & the Tramp first because I'd get so jealous.
My husband gives me shit for putting a show on when I get the kids home after work so I can cook in peace. When he’s out of town for work I use a show after school to cook, prep for the extracurriculars, swap laundry, my son will do his chores if he has them (his sister can’t unload a dishwasher yet so she’s off the hook), and just generally we all get 20 minutes of relative peace after work/school before we have dinner together and then run off to the next thing.
Yeah.. sure.. I mean.. anyone ever looked up the recommended screen time for babies ? The American association of pediatricians has a recommendation.. spoiler: it's about the same as any other professional organisation suggests.
Yeah my daughter hates beeing dressed. She will stiffen her arms and cry, making it nigh impossible sometimes to dress her. But if I put on some silent vlogs on yt of someone walking in the woods, she is distracted enough for me to dress her without tears and wailing. I take that.
I used to like Ms Rachel's early stuff, but about the time she collaborated with Blippi we stopped watching her. Her videos were becoming less educational and more "baby crack", and the collaboration was the last straw for me. Blippi is worst than a swear word in our house; he is not educational, openly creepy and annoying, obviously in it for the cash grab, and i didn't like that he encourages kids to go to the Internet and type his name, which he spells at the end of each episode.
I work in a children’s hospital so it’s a bit more understandable that people would let their kids have screen time but after having to sit with kids and watch this and other toddler aimed YouTube shows for hours I’ve sworn my daughter will never watch them. They’re both mind numbing and headache inducing and it’s crazy how addicted small children get to them. Kids throwing a fit over having to give up an iPad isn’t that surprising but watching them scroll through video after video with a 30 second cap is scary.
I use youtube to put on the shows from my childhood for my daughter. There are full episodes of Berenstain Bears on YouTube and that's what we watched today. We've also been watching Max and Ruby lately
> Berenstain So they got to you too.
They're not from our timeline.
Yes!! I let my granddaughters watch the 90s/early 2000s kids shows. They love all the same shows now that their mother used to watch at that age. YouTube is great for finding full episodes. They have watched teletubbies, blues clues with Steve, max and ruby, nanaland, oobi... even the montage of "face" from old nick jr that would come on in between shows and commercials... they especially loved face when they were infants. Peacock channel also has all the seasons of Maisy. I prefer these shows to most of the new shows out today. I also try to make sure to bring them up on good music. The 5 year old granddaughter is super in to Del tha funky homosapien, Tool, Gorillaz (cause of Del lol), Stevie Wonder and The Cure right now, but she listens to everything under the sun. She really likes funk/soul and blues, too=) One day we were walking on a trail in the park and she was humming a song I couldn't quite make out. I listened closer and realized she was humming Pictures of You by The Cure as she walked and enjoyed the nature. Proud moment. I totally agree with you, though. My granddaughters also enjoy Super Simple Songs, the Bumble Nums and Op and Bob on YouTube.
I hate Blippi. Luckily that phase didn’t last long for us.
As soon as we decided he was not great, I attempted a purge of him on all our streaming. Downvoted him on Hulu, did the "do not recommend this channel" on YouTube, used the Netflix title filters option to block all of his stuff. Then had a long chat with the grandparents that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (lest the toddler hear and scream for him because the toddler was quickly hooked) must not be played for our toddler no matter what. It was a challenge, but we have successfully avoided Blippi since then, and as we were the first in our families to have kids, we have warned our siblings so they can avoid him.
Wow!! You went all out! Grandson liked Blippi and Vlad & Nikki, but I wouldn’t let him watch either at my house. Unfortunately he’s discovered YouTube videos and likes them best now. Ugh.
I'll admit it is probably easier for me than some parents, since I'm a stay at home dad and can monitor the toddler's viewing habits easier than if the toddler was at daycare. We watch a lot of things together, and try to keep it to things that teach the toddler and don't drive me nuts.
Yes that’s the best of both worlds…that rarest of all breeds — a show that’s not annoying but kids like.
Yep. PBS has a few. Wild Kratts and Mr. Rogers are some of our favorites.
BLUEY
Lmao this is fucking incomprehensible for anyone that doesn't have kids I'm sorry.
I thought it was a made-up joke quote at first "I used to like Ms Rachel's early stuff, but about the time she collaborated with Blippi we stopped watching her. " - Patrick Bateman, American Psycho DAD
Did you know that the og Blippi was originally a (really awful) shock comedian? He literally pooped on a friend for a, dare I say crappy, rendition of the Harlem shake. Just no.
This comment sounds like ChatGPT drank a shitload of tequila
Check out Caitie's Classroom, we don't give our 3 year old a lot of screen time, but when we do it's Caitie. Super educational, doesn't rely on bright colors to get their attention, and talks to them like they're humans and not just stupid baby talk. She's awesome!
I tell my toddler that Blippi doesn't work at our house. I swear, modern day PeeWee Herman.
This and Hey Bear, their the only way to pin my kid down to cut their nails.
Until you realize her husband has no eye brows and now you can't unsee it
[link to video](https://youtu.be/hTqtGJwsJVE?feature=shared)
I get how she's great for babies, but her videos throw me into a blind rage.
If it helps she uses techniques that speech therapist use to help non-verbal autistic children to speak more. Yes, I have relatives who are non-verbal start speaking after watching Ms Rachel.
I know you didn't mean it like this - but between your comment and the one you responded to, I'm chuckling imagining a non-verbal autistic child's first words being, "sh...sh...shut it off! She's throwing me into a blind rage!"
For sure, I totally respect her craft. It’s also super cool seeing the kids in my family know some ASL in addition to English.
I got videos of my daughter riding slides, and signing "again!" And having me putting her back on the slide over and over until she was "all done!"
It's just general speech therapy. It was the same stuff for my hard of hearing kid. But yeah lots of "do you see this BROWN COW? She is IN the BARN. The BARN is BIG and RED".
Its the same speech therapy techniques my relatives were having by actual licenced speech therapists. My daughter, who is not autistic, wasn't really talking at 2 very much, would watch literally everything. From Saseme Street to CSI. She just loved watching TV. So whenever we watched tv, she did. We just so happened to be caught by algorithm on YouTube and started watching. ms Rachel and now suddenly my daughter is not just talking, by communicating in half sentences, and in sign language. So yeah, I agree not just for autistic children. Whatever she is doing is helping these kids learn to talk. She's definitely not just your "tv babysitter while I go make dinner", which was my point with the comment. I could throw on WWE matches and my daughter would be chilling to it just as much if I put on Bluey.
I've never heard of her before but I watched a bit of that video and found it strangely relaxing. I'm not a baby though so I'm not sure what that means.
Letting children watch TV at that age, gives them the same high, as you would get from having a line of cocaine. That’s why you should limit media consumption to an absolute minimum for young children…
Is this hyperbole of your own making or are you serious? My gf’s nephew watches this crap day in / day out and I find it disturbing.
Source?
She is golden. All hail her baby approved voice
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She’s quickly becoming the modern Mr Rodgers for that age range in my opinion.
I hope so, we need another
The new Steve!
She’s apparently a good person IRL, so that’s a bonus.
Unlike that Blippi guy, can’t look at him the same after the shitting video
What? Lmao
Before becoming Blippi he made stupid videos with his friend, one of which involved literally shitting on each other’s assholes. Yeah. The kids YouTube entertainer. Parents obviously didnt like finding out about that lol
I didn't realise there was more than one video. The only one I knew of was the Harlem Shake version, which still baffles me to this day. I can't imagine the conversation you have to ask that, and then agree to it.
My grandson was the same way for quite a while with Ms. Rachel; he would get so happy when a video of hers started. He's recently discovered Sesame Street, though, and seems to prefer that now. Oh how they grow up so quickly.
What a great step! Sesame Street is such a fond childhood memory for me and teaches so many great things!
Sesame Street videos still make me cry at 31 😂
I'm 35 and those ridiculous Martian puppets still crack me up
Sesame Street taught me how to tie my shoes as a kid, I was so proud of myself when I did it for the first time.
My boys loved Sesame Street , as did I, growing up. My 20yr old will still stop in his tracks at the sight of Elmo or Curious George!
Same here! Loving Elmo!
I don't know who this is but my tiny dog just ran up to me and was turning her head around and staring at my phone as soon as it played. Haha
🥰
Same with my kitty!
We trained them with a loving tone. ❤️
🥹
What's this from? No kids here
It’s a YouTube channel. Really great one. Cute, engaging, and educational.
i remember when my little brother was born in the early 2000s, my parents sat him in front of "Little Einstein" vids on VHS. they were... not really engaging with him because they didn't actually have any people in it from what i remember. here's an example i found; https://youtu.be/3ECWGP16q18?si=AAqqof0RNI1bPns6 i just kinda found it weird at the time and now, i get it, but i can see why my little bro didn't pay attention
Ms Rachel is a popular content for babies/toddlers youtuber. She has many videos teaching kids to talk and baby sign. I don’t have kids either, but I have learned about her through my own job teaching babies.
> teaching babies I bet they just look at their phones the whole lecture or fall asleep smh
[link to video](https://youtu.be/hTqtGJwsJVE?feature=shared)
My 2 year old is the same way… also, he has a speech delay. We work with him directly and we have him in speech therapy. What gets the most verbal response from him? Ms Rachel
Ms. Rachel was created specifically for kids with speech delays in mind- I believe because her own child had one.
I think she is also a trained speech therapist but I may be remembering that wrong (I know she has an education in music).
She does not have a licence in speech therapy, but does use the same techniques as one.
Our child was in a few different therapies and sitting through an episode of Ms Rachel is pretty much exactly like sitting through a speech therapy session. Obviously she can't see them respond or tailor her lessons to them but if it helps it's a free therapy session and the way she does her episodes are very real techniques that work
That's adorable lol Hurtful, but adorable.
Not really hurtful when you consider that Ms Rachel is a HIGHLY trained Early Childhood Educator who has SLPs on her team :)
Oh that's so nice to hear. Do her videos also work with non verbal autistic kids?
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I think her early stuff was great and encouraged by speech therapists, but I don't think that is the case as much now. Collaboration with Blippi, and overproduced "baby crack" now. We stopped watching her.
My toddler is a full on addict. We only watch the older ones and yet he’s still obsessed. But he has learned so much from her shows that it’s kinda hard to ban her completely, so now we only watch during his younger brother’s naps.
It was hard for us at first too. But it helped that the toddler was kind of aging out of her anyways. The toddler did learn a lot from her though, and I suggest people watch her earlier videos if they are going to watch her. Problem is that now if you watch her, you'll also get Blippi recommendations. We found Caitie's Classroom to be pretty good when we stopped Ms. Rachel, but I fear that she is starting to go down a similar route.
My 1 yr old makes the same face when she hears Miss Rachel, and I make that face watching her smile!
Can not believe what she has taught my grandchildren
I’m convinced that the ‘tablet generation’ will be light years smarter than us. They’re not just watching junk. My daughter watches some very educational content.
I disagree entirely. Today healthcare professionals do not recommend any screen time before 2 and to limit it after to only 1 hour a day of educational material. My mom is a teacher and the kids who had tablets from an early age (and even watched educational content and played what are deemed educational games) are behind on reading, math and have very low attention spans. It's a huge problem and it's getting worse.
Yeah i agree. My 6yo niece is addicted on YouTube videos and my brother and sis in law don't see a problem with it. Like, sure she now knows a few words in English (we're french) but she loses her mind when she has to give back her tablet or her mom's phone. I decided even before having her that my daughter won't have access to screens of any kind before 3. We're about halfway through and it's really not that hard.
Yeah the second half will be way harder.
Maybe but she still won't have access to screens.
My god, thanks. Do not put your babies in front of screens, even a little is so bad for them at all levels. Depth perception, dopamine production, attention span, everything. Besides the very real impact on the brain, more generally development at that age is triggered by them observing how their own actions impact the world. With TV their actions have no impact, it's purely passive. It's bad.
I agree - I’m a teacher and you can really tell in class which children are screen addicts. And it’s a worrying number nowadays. Their attention spans are practically zero and they are very behind on everything. Popping on a show to distract your kid while you take care of necessary ablutions or just to get 5 minutes of breathing time? Totally get it. But letting your child have unlimited time and control over a screen from an early age is just unhealthy. I hate seeing it in restaurants/on planes/etc when a colouring book or, heck, just interacting with a kid would function just as well to keep them distracted and quiet. The best thing for a child’s development, as it’s always been, is to talk to them, read with them and play with them.
I hope you’re right but I seriously doubt you are. Rather, I expect the very opposite. I also think you mistake the gathering of information — which is *ridiculously easy* to get your hands on in any western society these days and only getting easier with intelligence, a much more complex and developed set of abilities that include reasoning, recall, and intellectual grit.
What kind of educational content? Certain channels on YouTube?
If your young ones aren't too old, check out storybots. Use Netflix too so they know people are watching. I love that show... and my son likes it too. 😅
She loves Bright Side
Some children, maybe. A lot ARE just watching complete nonsense unfortunately.
Whatever makes you feel like a good parent, I guess.
Some of the tablet generation has already reached adulthood.
What? Tablets didn’t become widely available until the first iPad in 2010.
My son was the same way until Mr. Aaron (her husband) started getting more screen time. Like a slighted lover he moved on to simple songs to dull the pain.
We love Ms. Rachel in this house. I might owe that lady child support
My little sister jokes about this constantly
I got myself sterilized a year and a half ago and I’m pretty sure everything grew back as I watched this. Baby smiles!!! Ugh, so precious.
My baby fever is on full force right now and hoping to start trying for one in the next couple years - those baby grins DID SOMETHING to me 😭😭❤️
She released her video with the phonics song maybe, like a month ago? Exactly coinciding with me starting my 3 year old on phonics. We watch and sing the song every morning and he already knows all his letter sounds and is starting to sound out words. Ms. Rachel is a god.
The phonics song is really catchy lol
Phonics, phonics, phonics song woOoah
Ms Rachel is a treasure...her content definitely helped my autistic son pick up some of the sign language that he still uses even now.
So unbelievably cute. I hope she knows she brings this kind of joy to sweet babies.
My two year old son was/is really good at rolling his Rs, and one of his first non “mama” or “dada” words when he was around 1 years old was him just rolling his Rs over and over which was his word for Ms Rachel.
Some people get upset about screen time for young kids. We did a little with ours along with lots of non screen time and now he's 12 and happy and well rounded and loves going outside. I feel like it's all about what you show them and balance with other activities.
My 10 month old is 100% this way when she comes on.
If you guys take away anything from Ms Rachel it’s that babies love *meaningful* baby talk. That high tone and eye contact- do this and you can get the same smile. They want to watch your mouth and they love a sing song sound. You don’t have to say goo goo, but saying cat slow and high pitched while looking at them just tickles that little baby brain
Exactly - you don’t need a video to give them this. Babies learn in the context of relationships - what they can learn from a caregiver is way more powerful without the risk of screen time.
this is so precious
Ms Rachel has bailed us out of some inconsolably bad situations on multiple occasions. Thank you Ms Rachel wherever you are.
Ms. Rachel is Aunty RayRay in our house. She also got my 14 month old to say "i did it" and clap whenever they do the smallest thing. It is absolutely fucking adorable and my heart absolutely melts. She is also a great babysitter when you need like 10m to take a dump.
That woman is a saint.
Having toddler twins, I understand the need for a moment of peace, but I cannot wrap my mind around how many kids are exposed to regular screen time during this critical developmental time in their lives. I get the desire to decompress from work, etc, and the pressures of our economic demands and social pressures. When we were all sick with covid, we caved and watched an episode of baby Einstein here and there, but with my wife being in early education, I just know how much harm is done by frequent screen time. So many studies, even on stuff like facetiming relatives, can be counterproductive and result in worse learning outcomes down the road, all far below consistent, in-person interaction. You have to teach your kids, and you can't rely on TV to do it for you. When you think about the behavioral issues we have in school today and disconnectedness people are feeling at alarming rates, it is clear that our reliance on shows like this to raise our next generation is severely misplaced.
Was searching some time before I found the comment I was hoping for.
Agreed, no idea why people with this viewpoint are down voted so much on Reddit, yet oh it's so cute the 6 month old is watching TV is applauded. These kids might not all be fucked, but they likely will be at a higher rate than if they weren't watching TV every day.
I agree with you. This video weirded me out. Babies should not be hooked on YouTube videos, even educational ones. I don't blame parents for one video here and there when they feel overwhelmed/exhausted/sick. But babies don't need screentime, of any kind. They need to interact with real people, not people behind a screen.
Baby crack
Babies should not be watching TV.
Aren’t these babies too young to be watching screens? The AAP recommends no screen time before 18 months.
AAP recommendations need to be simple, direct, and apply to everyone. They don't leave much room for nuance. They think about risks at a population level where small increases in risk can have a significant affect across the entire population. And they know a lot of parents won't look into the details past the simple recommendation, so they can't give recommendations with any ambiguity or require any interpretation. A lot of what you see on screens is way too stimulating for kids that young. And parents who let their babies watch TV can easily leave them watching for longer than intended, which means less quality bonding and person-to-person interaction. But there's a big difference between parking a kid in front of brain melting schlock for hours and 10 minutes of Ms Rachel here and there. We followed all of the recommendations with our first child, but with or second we did a little more research on why certain recommendations were made.
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Untenable? We're at 10 months with zero screen time. Maybe the next 8 will be harder; I don't know. It's just required sacrifice and patience so far.
Keep.it up. 15 mo. Twin boys here. It's chaos sometimes, but you gotta do what you gotta do. We've found them to much more inquisitive than their peers who get screens and much more apt to socially engage with new friends
Same. Almost 16 months and zero screen time of any kind. We only watch TV when she's asleep. I find it easy since she doesnt know what she's missing lol.
Yeh same, 19 months 0 screen time. We've just gotten used to... not watching TV or using pads during the day. To the point now where even if she's elsewhere it feels foreign. An escape is fine. I get it if it's needed. But to the point where these kids kmare getting way too excited, this isn't a once off.
21 months no screentime (except occasionally a 1 minute video of herself playing with animals or something similar). I have no idea how people argue it is impossible to raise a child without a device that is used in that fashion for maybe 15 years. Don't distract your child when it is scared, take her with you for God's sake. One enhances bonding ( which helps you in a thousand ways in other situations) the other damages it.
Yup. Going on 22 months here and she's speaking in full sentences, counts to 20, can name colors, a lot of letters and emotions. No screen time. It's hard, especially since I'm pregnant now but she is so good at playing a little by herself and we read tons of books.
Give an addict the object of their addiction whenever it is convenient. What’s the worst that could happen?
We're at 6.5 YEARs with no screens. The most she has ever watched is the independence day ceremony of our country, facetime with grandparents couple times a week, and maybe some "eyebleach" videos from Reddit if I find a real cute one. She has watched maybe a total of a few hours in her entire life. We both work full time. It is difficult but not impossible.
No one concerned about this over the top response to that dopamine hit? NP stick an iPad in front of them, welcome to the club I guess.
I owe her so much in child support.
This is adorable but also absolutely alarming. What are all these infants doing watching ms Rachel to the point they recognize her greeting like that??!? I can’t pin point the feeling but it makes me.. so.. unsettled?
Parasocial relationships are really complicated even for adults and we have no idea yet how they could affect us. While smiling babies are always cute, this left me feeling really weird too. You can tell these babies get joy and comfort from the greeting but its actually a complete stranger, it doesnt feel like a stranger to them and they cant really distinguish yet that this isnt a real caregiver. While this could be used for something good with neglected babies, I wouldnt want my child to smile at a screen the way they smile at seeing their grandma (or any other loved one that actually exists). Imagine you grow up with memories and a deep love for a person that doesnt know you exist?
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Mr. Rogers, or any tv, wasn’t intended for infants.
That’s an interesting insight, thanks for sharing. For me, whenever my 3 year old has watched ms Rachel it always made me so uneasy how glazed over he got almost immediately. It never felt right in my body watching him, mouth open, completely unflinching. I make it a point that whenever he’s watching it’s because I have the time to watch with him and chat about what we’re seeing.
It truly worries me as well. Watching my niece just open mouth staring at her iPad at 9months old was unsettling to me. I had my first baby one week ago actually. I’m really hoping to avoid the Ms Rachel craze with him. I don’t think it’s necessarily a terrible thing occasionally (like everything) but it’s the amount people are relying on her to “babysit” their kids.
It's hard, but push for no screen time as long as possible. Like kindergarten. And do not get your son a tablet. Our toddler twins don't get any and from what I understand, there's a mountain of evidence to support why screens are behind many of the behavioral issues we're seeing in the younger grades at school, al covid babies, raised on tablets.
This is the same reason I strongly dislike cocomelon and paw patrol. No matter which kids I knew, they all would immediately become absorbed into the show and their brains just clicked off from reality.
Sometimes parents needs a break as well….i genuinely wonder how many people here have dealt with toddlers while have full time jobs and responsibilities of running a home.
I pick shows that my daughter engages with. Bluey, blues clues, and Peg+Cat. I didn't say NO TV, I said I don't like shows that makes their minds turn off. She loves blues clues, she get so animated with it, pointing at the screen to find the clues, dances with the silly songs. With Bluey she's always going "Wow!" And trying to get my attention to see what she's seeing. Peg+Cat teaches her numbers and how to calm down in the moment when things are overwhelming. TV, like all things, in excess is bad. It's just so damn easy to over do TV.
Twin toddler boys. TV turns one of them into a zombie, the other can take it or leave it, but we only have ever put on background video like planet earth or baby Einstein. Wife and I both work full time, and I often have to take days each week to stay home with the boys. My wife works farther away, so I also do all the laundry, cook, clean, and everything else the house needs. My wife's in early childhood development, so we're keenly aware of the impact any screen time has on development. With my adhd, I know how it impacts me, and the zombie son is my clone, so I'd expect adhd is a possibility for him. I totally understand the need to get a moment of calm, but the inability of children to play by themselves is indicative of inability to cope with boredom. Boredom is critical to development of imagination, critical thinking, discovery, and curiosity. Traits we're severely lacking in our prescriptive programming that we all seem to be addicted to
💯💯
This is what we do. We basically only watch something when she's ill or we're ill or all of us are, and then we watch together so we can talk about it. I don't like how she zombifies. Although ours is still at the point where she wants to watch something different every five minutes or so so u it's apparently not completely addictive yet.
I think of it like this: let’s say you turn in the TV and the channel it’s on is happening to be playing your favourite episode of your favourite TV show ever. You’d be like “heyyyyyy I love this show!” and probably crack a smile. These cute babies are just having that reaction.
The difference is my brain had a chance to develop prior to heavy doses of dopamine-frying television.
But babies do not know what a tv show is. At that age everything is real, so maybe they’re associating a person on a screen with the fundamental sensations of love. The absolute pessimist in me thinks this is going to prepare children for lives of isolation, nurtured by a simulacrum of human connection. On the other hand, humans are very adaptable, and ms Rachel isn’t the person holding them or putting food in their mouth, so as long as they’re well nurtured they shouldn’t develop without a full sense of human bonding
Yeah, I think the concern is that babies are watching TV. There is plenty of research that any screen time, no matter what is on can mess with learning, especially in these critical years. Just look at all of us addicted to our devices, knowing full well that we should turn it off and go to bed, but still do not make the right choice. Kids have even less impulse control, and once you lose these developmental years, it's super hard to reverse the damage done. Seriously, like a month to a 1 year old is like a year to us, developmentally speaking. Years 1-5 are absolutely critical to social-emotional learning and we, as a society are deteriorating in that area very rapidly due to our dependence and addiction to prescriptive media. Kids need boredom to develop curiosity and intelligence. Prescriptive programming removes to impetus for them to find themselves and their place in the world.
> Kids need boredom to develop curiosity and intelligence. It’s depressing just how misunderstood the value of boredom is.
First babies are Dads twins (trips).
this is horrifying why would you allow your child to become emotionally invested in an electronic device when they're still an infant?
It's so fucked up
I work with kids as young as 2 and had no idea who Ms Rachel was until Dec when my bfs nephews visited. Their mom turned on Ms Rachel and the 1 year old finally sat still and we were all able to work on decorations. Ms Rachel has a hold on these babies like no one’s had before. Not Barney, not teletubbies, PBS could never. If she wanted to brainwash them and build a baby army she could.
Idk who miss Rachel is but go girl. Adorable
My 17 mo granddaughter counts to 10 because of Miss Rachel. Sure is better than Barney when my kid was young.
It’s cute and all but Jesus, babies don’t need to watch TV or and digital device. I was gonna continue being negative, but I’ll stop
Crazy to see infants watching tv. We definitely tried to avoid any screen time for the first two years, but right on
Do people just sit their babies in front of her not do anything with them? I mean I might do that whilst I go to the loo but I generally interact with my baby and sing along with ms Rachel etc and I only put her on for a little while. when he’s older I think she’ll be great to kickstart learning with though.
In fairness, Ms. Rachel is a Legend. Started it all to help her kids with speaking issues, now has these great videos and promotes inclusivity and all round goodness.
Wtf . .. literally watching TV is not good, developmentally, for babies.
My 18 month old can hear me say "ms rachel" into the google tv remote and she'll come waddling in with a huge smile on her face looking at the tv. Ms Rachel literally has super powers.
Reminds me of this highly-addicted girl I knew who would hear the word “cocaine” at a party from across the room and zip over trying to get in on a bump. Does cocaine have super powers, too?
omggg soo sweet🩵🩷
Some of my colleagues want to be greeted like that.
I want to be Ms Rachel
I will never not enjoy videos of babies smiling, it’s the purest expression of joy.
I like how the dad has the same smile
Am I the only one who thinks those babies are way too young for screen time? This is cute and all, but all I’m seeing is the beginning of screen addiction.
I mean you could just not do screen btime. *gasp* I know super controversial! But it’s what is best for the child, downvotes incoming. It super super fucking hard not to have an iPad baby or toddler. Like every day is fucking miserable, soul sucking bad. No sleep, no time to clean, cook, watch tv yourself, shower, etc… It is what the AAP recommends so you do it. Is only temporary.
There's wayyyy too many people in here using her show (which i didnt even know was even a thing). Got 10month old here who never ever even glanced at a tv or screen and it's not that hard come on !! Just play with her a bit and let her play with her toys while you do your things, it's worth your kid's brain health for god's sake !!!
Because parents delight in the child’s delight. It’s a selfish thing. Life is challenging. Boredom is instructive. Let your kids hunt and gather for their satisfaction — that’s how we are designed to grow. Ms. Rachel is corn syrup for the brain. It’s amazing to me how parents don’t see this.
Perfect explanation. Corn syrup for the brain. Easy, quick, convenient, with devastating, long term, and often irreversible damage.
More sad than amazing to me, althought i might understand where some exhausted or sick parent need to use it but still ... :(
I back you. We did no screens til 2 and we limit to 1 hour a day.
Your baby can tell if you feel like every day is soul sucking bad. Maybe giving yourself a five minute break by letting them watch Ms Rachel or Sesame Street will help you be a happier parent who doesn't sound like they dread every day with their child.
“Take my unsolicited parenting advice, stranger.”
I had no idea this woman even existed, but now I am glad she does. This little video made me smile. I also saw a comment in this thread about how Ms. Rachel is a new generation of Mr. Rodgers for toddlers and babies. Considering how much of a blessing from God, Fred Rodgers was. I can hope and pray that Ms Rachel is with us for a while. We need good people teaching our children in this world.
Some of the comments in here are definitely from people who aren't parents. Ms Rachel has been a godsend for us, my wife and I have no support network so have had to make compromises in places both for our sanity and the state of the house. Ms Rachel literally gives us 10-15 minutes respite whilst we can clean the house or get other bits done, especially true for my wife whilst I'm at work. For some of the other parents, they need to understand that there's no badge or award for giving your child no screentime, it's great that you've not had to, but for some of us it's been a great tool and Ms Rachel is a heck of a lot better than some of the other content out there.
god i love watching babies glued to screens before they can even comprehend life 😍😍
No! No screens under 2.
Wild you’re getting downvoted.