If you’re wondering whether or not Ms. Rachel is good for babies, you’ve come to the right place. We picked up on the buzz about this hit Youtube show and gave it a watch ourselves.
As a parent of multiple children who have long passed the stage where shows like Ms. Rachel might have been interesting, I hadn’t come across Ms. Rachel’s YouTube channel, Songs for Littles, until a few weeks ago.
The buzz about Ms. Rachel in parenting Facebook groups is something we haven’t seen since Blippi first came on the scene.
Parents are raving that Ms. Rachel is interactive, educational, and that it’s no different than being on a video chat with distant family. Some parents don’t even count Ms. Rachel as screen time.
Are these things true, though? Is Ms. Rachel so good that even babies (age <1 year old) can watch it?
Let’s get to the bottom of it.
Are educational videos good for babies?
For decades, companies have done a fantastic job at marketing educational toys, TV shows, and videos to parents and caregivers.
Promises of increased IQs, larger vocabularies, and better future academic performance has allured generations of caregivers to turn to screens for their babies, even in the face of the overwhelming research advising against it.
The simple fact is that screen time for babies is advised against by every major medical governing board, including the WHO (World Health Organization) and the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics).
Naturally, though, a child’s development is their caregiver’s primary concern – and it can be hard to resist a good kids’ marketing ploy.
Generally speaking, it’s not beneficial to try to rush a baby’s development through any method, whether it be educational videos or real-life activities.
So, no – educational videos are not good for babies. Screen time, even when it’s called “educational”, can harm a child’s development instead of helping it.
*There are cases wherein a speech therapist or occupational therapist might advocate for the use of screens prior to the age of 2. Always follow the advice of your child’s medical team.
Is Ms. Rachel good for babies?
If you’re wondering if Ms. Rachel, specifically, is okay for babies to watch, the answer is no – Ms. Rachel’s videos, while live-action and sometimes compared to video chatting, still go against the AAP’s screentime recommendations.
Ms. Rachel (Rachel Accurso) is intentional about making sure her mouth movements are clear for her young viewers, as to help kids develop speech, and this is great.
It’s not helpful for babies, though.
Babies learn through live interactions with caregivers and by experiencing things around them by touch, smell, ect.
A caveat to this is that Ms. Rachel’s videos can certainly be helpful for parents – to guide them in how to play with their babies.
Being a parent or caregiver to a very young baby can be “boring” in a sense and some people might feel a bit lost on how to entertain a baby.
The things Ms. Rachel does in her videos are very easy to do yourself and I definitely encourage parents to check out her YouTube channel.
There are so many great ideas in her videos that you can incorporate here and there throughout the day.
You don’t need to engage your baby for more than just a few minutes at a time with these activities. Just stop when they signal that they’ve had enough of the activity.
What age group is Ms. Rachel for?
So, now that we know that Ms. Rachel is not good for babies, let’s find out what age group might better benefit from her videos.
Many of Ms. Rachel’s videos are marketed toward babies (that can sit and control their hand motions somewhat) up to preschoolers.
On the YouTube channel, it states that the videos are for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
In her baby videos, she plays games and goes over colors, words, and things like clapping and pointing.
Her videos for toddlers and preschoolers have songs, sign language, counting, and other educational content that kids between 2-5 might enjoy.
What is your overall opinion of Songs for Little, Ms. Rachel’s YouTube channel? Do you think it’s good for babies?