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YouTube star Ms. Rachel showed off her 1-year-old daughter’s impressive vocabulary in a new viral clip — and it’s making parents wonder how they can measure up.
Rachel Griffin-Accurso — who millions of tiny viewers on the social media site know as Ms. Rachel — recently posted a clip of her 1-year-old daughter Susie effortlessly ticking through an impressive lineup of words.
The tot — whose full name is Susannah — said words like “hi,” “bye,” “mama,” “dada,” plus crowd-pleasing extras like “uh oh,” “yay” and even “baba”, which is a nickname for her older brother, Thomas, 7.
But rather than simply swooning over the pint-sized chatterbox, some viewers found themselves slipping into comparison mode, stacking their own children’s milestones up against Susie’s already-loaded vocabulary — and feeling like they didn’t measure up.
“Here I am begging just to get one word at 20 months old. In speech therapy. It’s a slow process. I feel like I failed him somehow,” one parent lamented, summing up the quiet panic bubbling in the video’s comments section.
Another wrote, “I talk and sing to my 13-month-old every day but they can’t say any words. This is so cute but it’s hard not to feel sad and compare.”
It’s a somewhat ironic turn for Ms. Rachel, whose entire platform is rooted in guiding kids through early speech — while reassuring parents they’re doing just fine.
A former preschool teacher with a Master’s in music education, Accurso has become a go-to name in early childhood content thanks to her research-driven approach.
Her hallmark style — slow, deliberate speech, exaggerated “parentese,” and built-in pauses that mimic one-on-one interaction — has made her videos feel less like passive entertainment and more like a virtual lesson.
Seemingly aware of the reaction, the creator followed up with another video featuring her daughter just days later.
The caption read, “My son had a severe speech delay and he’s extremely bright and wonderful – neither one is smarter!”
She added that her eldest “didn’t really talk until 3 years old” although she taught him the same lessons as her daughter.
Accurso explained that she enrolled her son in “speech therapy and early intervention starting at 15 months.” She further stressed parents to “get help” for their children if they notice any speech-related issues, the “sooner the better.”
“This shows that kids are different and you shouldn’t feel bad! I thought everyone knew about my sweet boy struggling with speech,” she continued.
Not everyone took it so seriously, though.
Other viewers cracked jokes about the situation. One wrote, “If you are tired, do you tell your kids to watch you on the tv instead?” Another added that Accurso’s daughter has a “premium subscription” to her teachings.
Someone else added, “imagine having your mom be MS RACHEL i know the whole preschool is fuming.”
As previously reported by The Post, comparison can quickly suck the joy out of motherhood — and social media may be fanning the flames.
So-called “momfluencers,” often serving up polished, picture-perfect glimpses of family life, may be doing more harm than good for some new moms, according to recent research.
The findings, published in the “Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media Research,” suggest that glossy portrayals of motherhood — think spotless homes, smiling kids and camera-ready moms — can fuel feelings of anxiety and envy among viewers.
In the study, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln surveyed 464 new mothers to explore how personality traits factor into those reactions.
Women with a higher tendency toward social comparison — meaning they’re more likely to measure themselves against others — were also more likely to feel worse after consuming idealized content online.
Read the full article here
