Originally appeared on E! Online
Ms. Rachel has some big feelings when it comes to screen time.
The popular children’s programming YouTuber waded into the ongoing discussion of how much screen time babies and kids should have, detailing why she thinks some screen time isn’t such a bad idea.
“I think what’s really important in life — and for kids — is balance,” Ms. Rachel shared with Glamour in an interview published Oct. 27. “You’re doing dishes, you’re doing laundry, maybe you’re exhausted. Or maybe they’re really cranky and it helps to put something on sometimes.”
The subject of screen time is one experts are still discussing, with current guidelines recommending no screen time for children under 18 months — unless it’s to video chat with an adult — and very limited screen time for kids 18 months and older, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Too much screen time may lead to sleep problems, less reading and not enough physical activity, among others.
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But Ms. Rachel (real name Rachel Accurso) sees the benefit of some screen time for younger kids.
“During sick days, technology is fine,” the 42-year-old told Glamour. “Just lay around and watch shows. And on planes. But I think it is important to have balance.”
And with that balance in mind, Ms. Rachel — who is mom to son Thomas, 7, and daughter Susannah, 6 months, with husband Aron Accurso — also stressed the importance for parents to be having constant interactions with their children.
“For the really little ones, zero to three, that I have an expertise in, it’s really important that they have what Harvard calls serve-and-return interactions,” she explained. “So say they’re at the grocery store with you and they point, and you’re like, ‘Oh, you see the apples?’ And then they’re like, ‘Yeah.’ And you’re like, ‘Wow, should we get an apple? I’m going to pick out an apple.’”
As the Internet personality noted, “narrating your day” and having those “back-and-forth interactions” with your children are incredibly important for their development and can’t be replaced by screens. But that’s not to say that they are never helpful.
“I think expecting parents to never use screens — how is that possible?” Ms. Rachel added. “I think guilt can be a very heavy thing to carry as a parent. I think we don’t need to feel as guilty as we do.”
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images Ms. Rachel on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 on TODAY.
And when it comes to the kind of content she posts on her own YouTube channel — which she started to help her son Thomas through a speech delay — she’s very much inspired by what she watched growing up.
“I loved Mister Rogers. I still love him,” she gushed. “He’s been a big guide and hero of mine. I love ‘Sesame Street.’ PBS meant so much to me as a kid.”
As Ms. Rachel shared, being raised by a single mom who was often working a lot meant that she watched her fair share of television as a kid.
“We turned on the TV a lot, and I learned a ton from PBS,” she continued, “and I turned out okay.”
