In defence of Miss Rachel, who I shouldn't need to defend

COMMENT: "She's so much more than 'hop little bunnies' - but that's not all."  

If you know a mum with a toddler, chances are you’ve heard them sing the praises of Miss Rachel. 

“I owe Miss Rachel child support” is the running joke among us parents of Gen Alphas, like me, and there’s a reason why. 

She’s the Taylor Swift of Toddlers. 

She's a mum of two, today she announcing the birth of her second baby Susannah in a gorgeous Instagram post.  She’s truly on top of the world, and so she should be.

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The Miss Rachel revolution

But of course, like any successful woman on the internet (the YouTube channel she began in 2019 now has millions of viewers was recently picked up by Netflix) these days she’s been hit with hate for a list of unjustifiable reasons that is as long as the alphabet she teaches. 

One of the most recent points of controversy has been her stance surrounding ongoing conflict in Gaza (some videos have been aimed at teaching all kids impacted by the war).

Then, I hear a lot of parents refuse to turn her on because they find her voice "too high pitched", can't stand her signature overalls, or find her content isn't specific enough for their child (lest they be exposed to broader topics!).

Lauren and her son. Image: supplied

But to me, Miss Rachel's voice is the one that granted me the ability to drink my coffee hot in the early months of parenthood. It’s the voice that made me feel less alone when my husband returned to work and left me to the loneliness of maternity leave for 11 months. 

She educated my son in sign language, counting and strengthened the beginning of his vocabulary. 

At almost two-years-old he can confidently count to 10, use sign language for his basic needs and he knows the actions to several nursery rhymes. 

Seriously, don’t even try to stop the kid when “hop little bunnies” comes on. 

Image: Instagram and YouTube/ Miss Rachel

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"Miss Rachel has also educated me"

But she's not just a new way of learning for kids. Miss Rachel also educated me. 

She taught me how to teach what I know to my son. She taught me the important of intentional play, which is something you don't know how to do if your experience with kids is limited to having one yourself - which was me, and I know I'm not the only one. I was able to mimic her songs, facial expressions, actions and lessons when it was time to turn the TV off. 

Even now, she’s offering me wisdom through TikTok. 

Just yesterday I came across a video where she offers reassurance to mums embarking on The Hunger Games of toddlerhood (aka toilet training).  I'm hopeful the odds will be in my favour. 

“Potty training is not a race and it doesn’t mean your child isn’t bright and awesome if they get it later,” her post reads. 

It's exactly the reassurance I needed to see amongst the conflicting advice on the internet. 

"It gets easier"

Miss Rachel is the living embodiment of ‘it gets easier’ when you’re in the depths of the parenting dungeons. 

I know she’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s okay.  You can prefer The Wiggles - we're still very much a Wiggles household too. 

But there's no way you can deny the mark she's making upon our youngest generation, as well as their parents. 

She’s bringing joy to children while broadening their minds, and to hate for the petty reason of disliking her voice or her denim overalls, just doesn't seem right, in the balance on the extraordinary good she does. 

Miss Rachel may have been the glue that held a mum together on many of the difficult days - just as she was and is for me - so let's support her like she supports everyone else.

Originally published as In defence of Miss Rachel, who I shouldn't need to defend