- - Yes, even Ms. Rachel puts 'Ms. Rachel' on for her kids

Clare Mulroy, USA TODAYJanuary 7, 2026 at 7:01 AM

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By toddlers' standards, Ms. Rachel is among the most famous people in the world. The YouTube educator and one of Glamour’s Women of the Year has become many kids' favorite celebrity, gracing their screens with colorful videos and catchy songs.

But at the end of the day, she’s just a tired mom too.

On Instagram, Rachel Accurso is more unfiltered than she is on her children's YouTube account. She posts everything from solemn messages about advocacy for children to funny parenting selfies with unwashed hair and too little sleep. “I have strep throat and need a shower. Everything is everywhere. l love being a mom more than anything. I miss sleep,” she captions one post.

In an interview with USA TODAY, she recalls an instance three years ago when her son Thomas, now 7, told her “I’m proud of you, you took a shower!”

“I was like, I need this praise right now,” Accurso says, laughing.

Ms. Rachel is a phenomenon for both preschoolers and parents alike. With her picture books, she's penning advice she would've wanted as a first-time parent.Ms. Rachel helps parents by teaching kids

Her own journey as a parent is what led Accurso to start filming Ms. Rachel for Littles in 2019 (“We’re all struggling,” she says). She first pressed record as a project to help her son, who had a speech delay. What would have helped her when she was potty training as a first-time parent? Accurso and her sister were raised by a single mom in Maine. What would help single parents like hers?

She’s been heralded as a modern-day Mister Rogers. Scroll on TikTok, and you’ll see hundreds of videos of chubby-fisted toddlers demanding their parents put on Ms. Rachel, and parents getting hypnotized by her sing-songy lessons in the process.

Even Accurso is not immune to the Ms. Rachel effect. She does, in fact, put herself on for her 11-month-old, Susannah.

“I think Susie thinks I have an alter ego,” she says. “She is walking fast and sometimes I just need to keep her safe and maybe she’s grouchy because she’s getting her two front teeth and we put on some Ms. Rachel and she goes to town. She loves it; she learns. We get a second to clear the dinner dishes and do the dishes while she's watching Ms. Rachel and I appreciate myself in a new way.”

Ms. Rachel attends the Sesame Workshop 2024 Benefit Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street on May 29, 2024 in New York City.Ms. Rachel’s new book has tips for both parents and kids

The best kinds of kids’ content hook parents, too. Accurso’s latest book, “Happy Birthday, Wonderful You!” (on sale now from Random House Books for Young Readers) deploys that exact marketing strategy – offering an engaging story with pretend play for kids and a tip-sheet for parents.

In just 32 pages, Accurso walks kids through what to expect at a birthday party. Flip the page and play-pretend blowing out candles, opening gifts, saying “thank you” and choosing a birthday party theme. Accurso makes a point to talk about things other than confetti and cake. “Birthdays can be a bit loud, and they are very exciting. We can tell our grown-up: ‘I need a break,’” one page reads. She also points out things don’t always go as planned, and that’s OK.

For adults, Accurso encourages preparation, flexibility and letting go of pressure.

“I think in life and in parenthood, there can be judgment,” Accurso says. Put down the Instagram feed with extravagant, expensive first birthday parties. “It's just nice to be like, ‘This is what works for us.’”

After a big year, Ms. Rachel looks ahead in 2026

Ms. Rachel has plenty of projects lined up for 2026. She's expanded her toy collection and has a new special on friendship coming to Netflix later this year. And she’s entering 2026 relentless in her advocacy for Palestinian and Sudanese children.

“I'm passionate about helping every child. I see every child as equal. I can't meet a child and not delight in them,” Accurso says. “The fact that kids don't have food, shelter, just the basic needs and it's 2026 and we figured out so many things – I want to help in every way I can.”

Honoree Rachel Griffin Accurso (Ms. Rachel) attends Glamour Women of the Year at The Plaza on Nov. 4, 2025 in New York City.

Just as Mister Rogers took a stand against racial inequality on the “Neighborhood,” Ms. Rachel sees it as her responsibility to speak about the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza. In July, she posted that she refused to work with anyone who hadn’t done the same. She partnered with Save the Children, a humanitarian nonprofit, and has used her platform to highlight the stories of various Palestinian children. She keeps in touch with many of her young Palestinian fans over Instagram.

Her advocacy made her a target of online hate and pro-Israel groups. In April, the advocacy group StopAntisemitism asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate if Accurso was “being funded by a foreign party to push anti-Israel propaganda to skew public opinion.” In response, Accurso maintained her position comes from empathy for all kids.

“I believe that all children have fundamental human rights and there's never a reason to deny them of those rights. It's so simple that when we take care of children and allow them to meet their full potential, that's the right thing to do,” Accurso says. “It's going to benefit our kids, it's going to benefit societies, it's going to benefit the world. It's so obvious that we need to take care of the children in the world. And it's so frustrating to me that we don't.

“It's work to keep the hope, but it's so important,” Accurso says. "And the kids give me hope."

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ms. Rachel puts 'Ms. Rachel' on for her children, too

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