A teacher who has become a viral sensation among kids and their parents because of her social media videos is taking a break.
The educator, Rachel Griffin Accurso, known to her fans as Ms. Rachel, shared on TikTok this week that she is taking a break from posting on the social media platform to help protect her mental health.
“Hurning videos and comments, no matter how much attention they get, won’t get you what you want. Only love can do that,” Accurso wrote alongside a video of her singing, “I’m taking a break from TikTok for my mental health. “
Accurso currently has 2.5 million followers on TikTok, where she shares songs and regularly answers questions from followers.
She told ABC News in a statement on Wednesday that she hopes to return to the platform “soon”.
“I think it’s important to recognize when we need a break from social media and to set boundaries for social media,” she said in a statement. “I love connecting with great parenting & caregiving community on TikTok and be back soon!”
@msrachelforlittles/TikTok
Accurso herself is a mom and teacher by training who holds a master’s degree in music education and is currently studying for a second master’s degree in early childhood education, according to her YouTube page.
On her YouTube channel, “Songs for Littles,” Accurso is known for sharing videos to help young children learn to speak, recognize colors and numbers, and learn through songs.
She has over 3 million subscribers on YouTube and her videos are typically viewed millions of times each.
Child educator Ms. Rachel can be seen in a toddler learning video posted to her YouTube account.
@msrachel/YouTube
Accurso’s decision to temporarily step away from TikTok was met with both surprise and respect from her followers. She has previously posted on the social media platform about having anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
“I fully support it. Protect your peace,” one follower wrote.
“This makes me sad. Who in the world can be mean to Ms. Rachel,” another follower wrote.
In a TikTok video posted in January, Accurso spoke to her adult followers and told them she wanted to monitor them and their mental health.
“I wanted to say, ‘Are you okay?'” she said in the video. “Don’t forget to take care of you too. You deserve to be taken care of and you deserve to be okay and healthy.”
TikTok, which has more than 100 million monthly active users in the US, currently requires its users to be at least 13 years old.
The app, which has drawn criticism for the risks it could pose to young people’s mental health, announced on Wednesday that it will set a default screen time limit of 60 minutes for users under the age of 18.
When the one-hour limit expires, young users will be asked to enter a password that will allow them to continue viewing the app, according to TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.