Ms. Rachel admits to using a divisive parenting hack: 'I'm doing my best'

Preschool teacher turned YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel is being praised for her honesty after sharing a relatable morning shortcut.

“I dress my little boy for school at night,” Ms. Rachel — real name Rachel Accurso — revealed on TikTok. “We put on a nice new shirt (and) sweatpants — super comfy, great for jammies. And then, when he wakes up, we throw on sneakers.

“Someday, I’ll teach him to wake up for school and get dressed,” she continued. “That will be a very good thing to teach. But I can’t do that right now. And that’s OK. I’m doing my best, and so are you. And I love you.”

Ms. Rachel and her husband, Aron Accurso, welcomed their son, Thomas, in 2018.

In the comments, some fans were horrified by the hack.

"Please don’t teach mums to be lazy and send there (sic) kids in smelly creased clothes they deserve to sleep in comfortable pj shirt...," one person wrote, for example.

Ms. Rachel defended the move explaining that Thomas, 4, bathes at night, and he doesn’t “get sweaty” when he sleeps. She also noted “there’s been no issues with wrinkly clothes.”

Others shared that they use the same tip themselves.

“This made me me feel so much better because this is what I do!” one person wrote.

Added another, “Oh my gosh thank you for this! I get mom guilt a lot for doing the same thing. Thanks for normalizing it.”

Clinical psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy, aka “Dr. Becky,” shared that she uses the hack, too. In a TikTok video on Oct. 5, the mother of three, who lives in New York City, opened up about a particularly “high stress” morning.

“I am going back to putting my young kids in their school clothing the night before. It just doesn’t matter,” Dr. Becky announced. “I’m putting them in leggings or sweats. It’s one less thing to do.”

The parenting expert added that she will also be packing lunches the night before and greeting her children in the morning by telling them, “I’m so happy to see you.”

While Dr. Becky appeals to grown-ups seeking parenting advice, Ms. Rachel regularly gets stopped in the street by starstruck toddlers, who can’t get enough of her contagious “Songs for Littles.”

Since launching her YouTube channel in 2019, Ms. Rachel has amassed more than 6.2 million subscribers.

“Sometimes, we have a dream, and then something even more rewarding and perfect is in store for us,” she says. “My dream was to be a singer-songwriter. Then it was to be an excellent public school teacher, then a mother. Now, I’ve combined my dreams into the perfect job for me," Ms. Rachel told Parents earlier this year. "I get to write songs, teach, and help kids, and I’m so lucky to be a mom. It all sort of happened by accident but feels meant to be.”

CORRECTION (Aug. 22 2024, 5:01 p.m.): An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed the members of Ms. Rachel's family. She has one son named Thomas.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com