Mom Films Toddler Watching 'Ms Rachel', Captures Milestone Moment Instead

Newsweek

15-06-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A couple filming their son accidentally captured his first unaided steps on video, as he became distracted by the TV.
Lianne, 42, lives in Buckinghamshire UK with her wife, Jordan, and their 15-month-old son, Grayson, who has recently learned to walk on his own.
And, by pure accident, the couple captured his first unaided steps on camera—because he was distracted by the global YouTube phenomenon Ms Rachel, beloved by babies, toddlers and many parents worldwide.
As Lianne explained to Newsweek: "We were doing a video to capture Grayson's progress from crawling, to walking with a walker, to walking," which is a popular trend on social media, as parents create video montages of their babies growing up.
"As we were filming the 'walking with a walker' video, he decided to take his first steps into our living room where Ms Rachel was on the TV!"
Lianne shared the adorable moment to her TikTok account @liannel2810 on June 8, captioning it: "When Miss Rachel [sic] ruins your crawling to walking baby video," along with a laughing emoji.
Grayson uses a walking toy to move down the hall, but gets distracted by the TV.
Grayson uses a walking toy to move down the hall, but gets distracted by the TV.
TikTok @liannel2810
And in words over the video itself, she added: "When your toddler gets distracted by Miss Rachel [sic] whilst doing the crawling to walking trend and takes their actual unaided first steps."
It shows Grayson using a wooden toy walker, slowly making his way down the hall as viewed from a camera set up in the family's sitting room.
But as Grayson uses the walker to continue down the hall, he looks into the room and then stops, as he's recognized the educational YouTuber on the TV screen.
The baby then casually lets go of the walker—and walks, barely wobbling, into the room to get a better view—and Lianne and Jordan can be heard bursting into laughter as they witness, and record, their son's first steps.
Lianne, who gave her first name only, told Newsweek: "We were both shocked, as prior to this he would only walk with us holding his hands or using his walker."
And it appears Grayson isn't the only one whose first steps were towards Ms Rachel, as commenters flocked to the video, viewed more than 83,000 times, to share their own stories.
Grayson stops to watch Ms Rachel, then walks unaided for the first time to get a better look.
Grayson stops to watch Ms Rachel, then walks unaided for the first time to get a better look.
TikTok @liannel2810
"Love this, I defo [co] parent with Miss Rachel [sic]," one user wrote, as another admitted: "My little boy did his first unaided steps to walk to the TV where Ms Rachel was on."
Another joked Grayson had "definitely been having a sneaky run round when you [have] not been looking."
On average, babies take their first unaided steps around 14 months old, and may indicate they're ready to begin walking independently after learning to do so while holding a parent's hand or furniture for balance, according to a medically-reviewed report from What to Expect.
Lianne said: "We are always super proud of all Grayson's achievements and milestones so it was really lovely to see—but also really funny.
"It's almost like he was thinking, 'why am I in the hallway when Ms Rachel's on?'"
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