Netflix’s Baby-Sitters Club season 2 puts an unusual twist on the cast

Media for all ages tends not to show meaningful parents figures. In some cases they’re totally absent from the story. In others — like the school-set narratives of Zoey 101 Oder Ned’s Declassified, where the only present adults are teachers — they’re only used as obstructions. Or sometimes they’re bumbling and incompetent, like iCarly’sSpencer is the guardian and older brother of Spencer. He accidentally sets things ablaze repeatedly. Kid-friendly shows usually put the emphasis on the younger characters, allowing them freedom to do things that regular kids can’t, which not only focuses on the intended audience, but offers them escapism and empowerment. But not all shows are caught in this trap. But even when child-centric media depicts adults as good and supportive, they’re typically framed to help young audiences learn valuable life lessons.

But in season 2 of Netflix’s series Baby-Sitters Club, not only are the parents present and involved in their children’s lives, they also have their own compelling stories and struggles. It’s a refreshing acknowledgement that while parents may fret over their kids, children are concerned about their parents, too. But while the series’ parents go through their own struggles, which worry their children, they never burden their kids with specificities or put the emotional labor onto them. It’s a fine balance, giving the adults complexity without completely making their issues into the children’s problem, but the show manages to pull it off.

I’m no longer the target audience for shows like Baby-Sitters Club — I’m in my 20s, and don’t have kids who would watch the show. But I can’t help but be totally invested in the series’ parent characters. Netflix’s adaptation of Ann M. Martin’s best-selling books follows a group of middle-school students who start their own business built around babysitting. Baby-Sitters Club does a fantastic job of portraying the ups and downs of being a preteen girl, adapting the books’ plot points to reflect this day and age. The TikTok-star child sitcom babysitter Jessi, who is also portrayed in the book, is an example.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for The Baby-Sitters Club season 2.]

Photo: Kailey Schwerman/Netflix

Tomboyish club president Kristy, for instance, becomes concerned when she learns that her mother Liz (Alicia Silverstone) and stepfather Watson (Mark Feuerstein) are trying for a baby — not because she doesn’t want a new sibling, but because she’s worried that they don’t want to tell her because of her initially standoffish attitude toward her stepfamily.

As it turns out, Liz is worried about setting Kristy’s expectations too high, because she knows having a baby at her stage in life is not easy. The next few episodes see Liz struggling with fertility treatments, even if Kristy doesn’t know the specifics. She mentions her mom’s hankering for chocolate, which older viewers may be able to pinpoint to the stress of hormonal treatments, and the general anxiety of trying to conceive. But the show doesn’t go into explicit detail — and rightfully so, considering the target audience.

Kristy finds her mom crying in the bathroom when she returns from work. She is trying to conceal the hormones and pressure that comes with trying for a baby. Kristy offers to listen to her mom if she wants to talk, but Liz says that while she knows Kristy will listen, this isn’t a kid’s burden to bear. Liz is clear that she should instead actually talk to her husband about what she’s going through. If that discussion happens, it stays offscreen, but that’s a good thing. For Liz, understanding that her preteen daughter shouldn’t be her emotional support is an act of emotional maturity. Kristy used to be adamant about the thought of her stepfamily but is now more open to it. Liz also recognizes her need to talk to another adult about her issues.

Photo: Kailey Schwerman/Netflix

Baby-Sitters ClubIt is notable for its ability to give parents good inner and outer struggles, as well as a way that it encourages them. You can also see it hereStill making them great parents. We know that responsible Mary Anne has a father (Marc Evan Jackson) who’s struggling with anxiety — last season saw him coming to terms with letting Mary Anne grow up, and moving on from the loss of his wife. In season 2, he’s been going to therapy and trying to implement those lessons in real life.

To make Mary Anne’s first date less stressful, he brings prepared notecards that include pre-written encouragement and support words. But most touchingly, he does his best to bond with Mary Anne’s friend — and his girlfriend’s daughter — Dawn, who takes the opposite approach when it comes to handling big emotions, and insists that everything is fine when people encroach on her personal boundaries. Dawn is initially resistant to his efforts to communicate with her. However, Dawn eventually comes to her with an adult coloring page and tells Dawn how his fear helps to neutralize them. She realizes that Dawn has a point.

Baby-Sitters ClubIt was created for kids but has the same depth and nuance as other shows that are all-ages. Steven UniverseAnd Adventure Time Appealing to Adults as well. Baby-Sitters Club is a realistic live-action show instead of an animated fantasy like those other series, but that’s what makes it particularly compelling. The stories are still seen through the children’s eyes, but when the adults feel less like stock characters and more like actual three-dimensional human beings, the reality of the show becomes more vibrant, and it’s able to handle more complicated storylines while still being age-appropriate.

Not only does that make the show more appealing to older audiences, it humanizes the adult characters to the actual intended audience — these adults aren’t obstructing authority figures, goofy gags, or props set up to dispense life advice. They’re going through complicated stories just as much as their kids, which teaches the younger audience that parents are people who struggle with big feelings too.

Season 2 Baby-Sitters ClubIt is also available on Netflix.