Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
SheKnows
Toddlers Will Love Ms. Rachel’s New Toy Collection — Which Includes a Hidden Benefit for Moms
By Sydni Ellis,
12 hours ago
Ms. Rachel is known for her enthralling videos designed to teach little ones how to correctly pronounce words (among other things). Her award-winning songs are fun and entertaining and, of course, educational — and her 11.4 million YouTube subscribers love her colorful and exciting videos. As a mom of a wild toddler, Ms. Rachel has brought much-needed moments of peace to my life, and with her amazing new toys releasing Sept. 15 , she’s going to help moms in another special way, too.
From puzzles to dolls to surprise toys, Ms. Rachel’s new toys were designed by Spin Master to appeal to little ones. “My mission is to help make sure that all children have access to high quality early learning — it’s what inspired us to create the show and now we can extend that learning through play with this really thoughtful toy collection — it’s a dream come true,” Accurso tells SheKnows. “The toys were inspired by popular songs, themes, and research-backed learning techniques from our show,” she adds.
Nicole Hill Gerulat/Ms. Rachel
And they are super colorful, too. In a time when Beige Moms are taking over our feeds, this really stands out. “Colors are visually stimulating and are great for baby’s brain development,” Accurso explains, adding that she wanted these toys “to feel familiar to what families have seen from Ms. Rachel to encourage them to play along.”
One of the new toys is a plush version of Ms. Rachel, which says words, phrases, and songs from the YouTube show “to encourage early speech development for babies.” But Accurso reveals that it also has a double benefit for moms playing with their kids. It encourages kindness! “One thing I love about our new Speak and Sing doll is that we included a lot of great affirmations (like “you can do hard things!” And “you are so loved!”),” Accurso shares. “These phrases are great for littles, but also wonderful reminders for their parents too.”
The former preschool teacher, who is mom to son Thomas, born in 2018, with husband Aron Accurso, admits that she struggles with “mom guilt” like anyone else. And simply saying positive affirmations (or hearing them!) can help her overcome this.
“I think it’s so important to give yourself grace and recognize that just because you do something differently than other parents doesn’t mean you do it wrong,” she says. “If your child feels safe and loved that’s what matters. I’m all for less judgment and shame and more acceptance, love and kindness…and I have to remember to give that kindness to myself from time to time too!”
Ms. Rachel is just healing our inner child and making us cry, no big deal!
Although toddlers will love playing with these Ms. Rachel toys on their own — and hopefully giving us a couple minutes to ourselves! — Accurso also encourages parents to play with their children. But, don’t worry, incorporating play and learning into your routine doesn’t have to be an intense or structured experience.
“One easy way is to narrate what you are doing and seeing throughout the day – walking and seeing a tree or a bird, making dinner or putting toys away – that turns everyday activities into play time,” Accurso says. “Another favorite of mine is peekaboo – it only takes a few minutes and infants learn so much from it, and it is super fun to see their reaction.”
She adds, “Play is such an important part of learning in early childhood. It’s how little ones make sense of the world and practice new skills. Play changes and evolves as a child develops – it allows a child to use their imagination, connect with others, learn important skills and grow. Play and learning are so interconnected and that was an important guiding principle as we developed the toys .”
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0