Ms Rachel Answers Common Parenting Questions and Toddler Development Tips

You do not have to be Elsa for 3 hours. I've tried it. It's really it's it's too hard. Hi, I'm Miss Rachel, early childhood educator and children's TV maker. I am here to answer your questions from the internet. This is Miss Rachel support. This question is from Kora. Why do kids seem to love singing repetitive songs even when it annoys everyone around them? Is there science behind it? Repetitive songs are great for kids because kids need repetition to learn and songs with gestures are so great for kids because imitation is a building block of speech. So, Bills on the Bus is so genius for kids in so many ways

because you're doing the motions which are great for their brain. You're doing fun sounds which don't have pressure with speech like going beep and that's fun. It has that repetition that helps with language. It's such a great song for kids. I know it's annoying, but I'm sorry. I'm going to tell you it's great for them. I love this. It's Daniel Tiger Conspiracy. Positive Crest 8950 says, "When Miss Rachel's kids act up, what does she put on the TV?" Our pediatrician said there's no rules for screen time when the child is sick or flying. And that checks out. I like it. I agree. When we were on a plane with Susie, we tried to do the Miss Rachel Mr. Aaron live show. We were doing everything we could. We were doing the icky sticky

bubblegum and she would not stop screaming and you know I'm thinking about the people around us and we put on Miss Rachel and she was like yes that's what I wanted. I wanted you on the screen. So even I as Miss Rachel couldn't get my child to calm down on the plane without screen Miss Rachel. And I have gone up to a child and tried to sing Old McDonald while they're watching me in the screen and they were like can you please let Miss Rachel continue and not sing Old McDonald right now? And I was like, "But I'm the real Miss Rachel, but I was in stretch pants." And I had crazy mom hair. And they were just like, "You're not Miss Rachel. You're a greasy human." I am.

Muna asks, "Potty training mamas. I need tips, tricks, hacks, anything that will help me with potty training. I need to get this almost three-year-old out of diapers pronto." If you feel comfortable, have your child watch your potty routine and just know, hey, everybody uses the potty. Read books about the potty. watch shows that show potty training. You want to make it so normal and comfortable that people go to the bathroom. I think it's wonderful to start with trying the going to the bathroom and being proud to be the reward. If that doesn't work, I think like, hey, a dance party or like a high five. If that doesn't work, you know what? Get out an M&M. And sometimes you just need a treat. I need treats, so it's okay.

Ask Norian1 says, "It's okay to hate playing with my toddler, right? Playing with a toddler can be boring and repetitive and it's okay that you feel this way. No judgment. We all have different gifts as parents. I hate cooking and I do microwave chicken nuggets a lot." And I can do the creative play. So maybe you love cooking and you involve your toddler in your cooking. Maybe you like going outside and playing on the playground. Maybe you like playing soccer with them. Maybe you do art. I think for 10 minutes a day, that's a good goal to follow your child's lead and just immerse yourself in their world. But you do not have to be Elsa for 3 hours. I've tried it. It's really it's it's too hard. Emme, can we be real for a sec? How much

screen time do you let your toddlers have? I think that you need to do what's best for your family and leave behind the shame and the judgment. I do think kids need balance. It's wonderful if they can get outside, go to a class at the library, have some reading, but let's be real, sometimes you're exhausted and you need a little break and to do the dishes. I remember with Thomas, I was like, "He's screaming. I think I'm going to put on Elmo and do the dishes." And it was okay. I grew up watching a lot of PBS kids. I had a single mom who was working a few jobs and going back to school. Some of us are in that situation and we use screen time as a tool and it's okay. Official William Murray says, "I feel like I owe

Miss Rachel child support at this point." That's really cute and sweet and it makes me so happy that you feel like I have been helpful because I've needed to call in my co-parent Elmo at times and I've really appreciated him. I am so okay. I J says, "I need help. I'm introducing my toddlers to identifying and writing letters and numbers. How do I make it fun? Why is it so frustrating? Help me." So, your toddler doesn't really need to focus on letters and numbers, especially in an academic drilling way. But you can make letters out of Play-Doh. You can draw in sand.

You can have foam bath letters and be like, "Oh, here comes the A." Ah, a You can make it fun and just have letters be part of life. Let's go on a letter hunt and find things that begin with the letter S. But your child's not expected to know all the letters. Yaba doo z5. Hey, I am 43, so I know this. This is from the Flintstones. That's really cool. What's the deal with sensory bins? They're awesome. They're messy. Sensory bins outside. Amazing. Kids love to explore. Have you ever been doing a sensory bid and your toddler walks away and you're still enjoying it? That's happened to me. Or I'm like doing

Play-Doh and I'm just like enjoying the Play-Doh or the slime and I'm like, "This is soothing." I think doing things like that, they can get really creative. You can have animals that you're rescuing. That's super fun. You can find letters in sensory bins. Oh, all the letters are lost. They can't they're they're lost in the rice. We have to get them out. K. Sing asked, "Anyone else with a speech delay, kiddo feel defeated?" I felt the same way. I felt defeated and I felt like, man, as a teacher, why can't I help my child with a speech delay? And it's not your fault.

Make sure to know that your child is wonderful the way they are, whether they're talking or not, and you don't need to compare. You do need to talk to your doctor and get early intervention so you can have that support. Gas station fitted says, "Big, intricate danger is fun, the way playground should be." And then there's a picture of a really cool looking playground. So yeah, risky play is actually good for kids. And when I mean risky play, I'm saying like climbing high and figuring out how something feels on the playground. Cuz actually when playgrounds are too little and boring, kids will find actual dangerous things to do like jumping off the roof. So it is good for kids to climb high and go down a slide that might feel really big for several

reasons. It helps them feel confident. It helps them assess risk and they can apply that to other things. It's good for them. So, something I'm working on in my parenting is not to say be careful too much. I find myself wanting to say, "Be careful." But instead, I can say things like, "Where are you going to put your foot next?" or "How does your body feel doing that?" I am an anxious person, but it's good if I cannot make my kid like that. Also, if you think your kid needs help on the playground, try waiting a few beats and seeing if they figure it out. You don't always have to like come to their rescue. You can just see like, hm, are they going to figure this out? Give them a little

time. Okay. Wide dash performer 9222. If your child could learn one skill that school doesn't teach, what would it be? I think to love themselves because it's really important that we love ourselves. I think the golden rule, treat others how you want to be treated. And I really like Selena Gomez wants to do mental health curriculum. I think there should be mental health curriculum starting in prek. I think kids need to learn about mental health and then as they get older, learn about things like OCD like I have. It would have been great to learn that it was a thing and know how to get treatment. So, I love that. Digital Practic asks, "Why do we talk to babies in a high-pitched voice

even when they clearly don't understand us?" So, this high pitch and elongated vowels like hello with enthusiasm and slowed down, this is actually used across the world naturally cuz babies respond to it. Babies actually do understand us long before they can talk. They are decoding language. They're assessing our emotions. So, it's so important to talk to your baby. Narrate your day. Chut Paglehoon asks, "Why do children's educational content feel so repetitive and unstimulating to adults?" Well, children need repetition to learn. They need things to be slowed down. and you are a grown-up and you already know your ABCs, so it is sometimes hard to watch. We try and put in jokes for the

adults and make it fun, though. It is my cake day. How come kids are able to listen better when it's sung versus told to them normally in a sentence? I think singing's fun and I think sometimes you don't even have to sing. You just make it fun. like, "Hey, let's hop like frogs to go brush our teeth or let's be race cars and race to our room to pick out our pajamas." They just like play. So songs do make things fun like this is the way we brush our hair. This is from Kora. Do toddlers actually prefer routine or do parents create routines mostly for their own sanity? Routines are great for babies and toddlers. They like predictability. It makes them feel safe and confident. And

routines are great. But don't stress. Sometimes the routine goes wrong and it's just a crazy day and that's okay. Ultior kid 324 asks, "My baby cries every time I leave the room. Do they think I disappear each time?" So up until 8 months, your child doesn't know about object permanence. Say this is you and you go out of the room. They're like, "Does my mom exist anymore?" They're out of the room. But when they get past eight months, [snorts] they know you exist, but you go out of the room and they don't have a great concept of time. So, they're like, "When is my mom gonna come back?" You can actually

sing a song and then walk out of the room and still keep singing it so they still hear your voice and know you're still there. And it's totally normal. Sounds like your baby really loves you. Eli 5 says, "Why is it so important for little kids to be able to color inside the lines?" So, actually, it's not important for little kids to color inside the lines. They really don't learn that until they're four or five. So, don't even worry about that. We do want little kids to work on their fine motor skills, and we can do that through Play-Doh, through using tongs, through building with blocks.

I look says, "How does Miss Rachel have this much pullover babies?" I hope it's because they feel that I love them and that I care about them. And I think they can feel that through the screen. They also like my high voice. Let's be real. Soggywar907 asks, "Is it okay to let kids get bored sometimes? Not only is it okay, it's good for kids to be bored. Remember back in the '9s when we just watch glue dry on our hands when they're bored, they often come up with creative ideas. And maybe they are kind of frustrated when they're bored. And it's okay to sit with those feelings. And actually, I just said to my children the other day, "Life can be boring and it's okay. You can be bored."

Grimfen says, "I grew up with Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street. Same as so many others. Why then is being kind such a hot take?" That's a great question. And you know what? Being kind is strong. And Mr. Rogers said, "Real strength is helping others." And I really believe that. I think we have the wrong definition sometimes of these things. And I think empathy is brave and beautiful and awesome. Friends, what did we learn today? We learned that I can't cook and I make a lot of chicken nuggets. We learned that Play-Doh is fun and a lot of other things. And that's all the questions for today. Thank you so much for watching.