Internet Sensation Ms. Rachel on Her Break from TikTok: 'Self-Care Is Important'
Ms. Rachel of Songs for Littles
For parents of preschoolers, the news that Ms. Rachel is taking a break from TikTok is the biggest story of the week.
The Internet favorite — a 40-year-old mom (real name: Rachel Griffin Accurso) and former teacher who creates contagious kids' songs rooted in speech therapy techniques — has amassed more than 1 billion views between YouTube and TikTok in recent years. But this week, she announced she's pausing her work on the latter for her mental health.
"Self-care is important," she tells PEOPLE. "I do a lot of self-help work on not letting a small amount of people and their words have power — love is more powerful. Helping kids inspires me to do the work and get up every day, but you do encounter some things that are more negative."
Griffin Accurso has yet to publicly comment on the reason for her break, but on recent videos, some commenters posted disparaging comments about her colleague Jules, who uses they/them pronouns. PEOPLE's request for comment from Ms. Rachel's team was not yet returned.
"I've been a mental health advocate for a while," adds Griffin Accurso, who even wrote an adult musical about mental health with her husband and collaborator, Broadway composer and director Aron Accurso. "I've always been very open about it — growing up, I thought I was damaged and there was something wrong with me. But I want people to know that's not true, that mental health conditions are not your fault and they're not a character flaw."
Though she first hit it big on YouTube in 2019 with her cheery "Songs for Littles," she tells PEOPLE she loves the way TikTok allows her to connect with parents.
"What's cool about TikTok is seeing parents using my strategies away from the screen — finding the games and songs with the TV off, singing and dancing around with their kids. It makes my heart so full," she shares. "The most important thing for parents is to have those warm, caring, back-and-forth interactions with their children and being able to see that on TikTok is beautiful. And it helps me see what's really working on the show — it's a way to have a relationship with my audience."
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Her audience is devoted — and adoring. Griffin Accurso started her YouTube channel with her husband and some theater friends after struggling to find help for her own son, now 5, who had a speech delay.
"I thought it would be great if there was a slow-paced, directive show that used some of the techniques his speech therapist used," she recalls of her early days. "We learned a lot having him in Early Intervention, I have a background in education and my husband in Broadway, so we were great team."
Her videos are a 50-50 mix of classic kids' songs and original works; she calls favorites like "Wheels on the Bus" and "Old MacDonald" "so good for language and learning." She also uses predictable phrases like "Ready, Set …," letting the child fill in that third word while she gestures or demonstrates the "Go!"
"That way" she explains, "the child sees, 'Oh wow, I communicated and said go and something fun happened. My voice is powerful and it can get my needs met!' "
Her son's first word was, in fact, "go."
"It makes me teary thinking of the time when he couldn't communicate — you could see the frustration," she shares. "Watching your child struggle is the worst feeling, but when parents say our videos help with communication it's huge. Communication is a right. And it's exciting for me to take what I've learned and pass it on."
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For parents who are searching for help for kids with speech delays, Griffin Accurso recommends reaching out to your state's Early Intervention for an evaluation (in most states, it's low-cost or free). Narrate your day and use natural gestures like pointing, waving, clapping and blowing kisses.
"Speech therapy taught me that gestures and imitations are the building blocks of speech," she shares. "They're preverbal communication — ones children use from ages 9 to 16 months predict their language ability later."
Giving parents easy access to that valuable information is what Griffin Accurso calls her "why."
"I set out to just try and be helpful and have fun because I love education — I'm so passionate about it and I do think that's contagious and that people can feel that I really care," she says. "I just want to help people. That is what nourishes my soul."
