Busytoddler

The creator behind Busy Toddler is Susie Allison, a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher based in the United States. She built the Busy Toddler brand after leaving the classroom, drawing on her professional training to create activity and parenting content grounded in early childhood development.

Susie Allison holds a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education and spent years teaching kindergarten and first grade before starting Busy Toddler. That formal background sets her content apart from most parenting creators, since her activity ideas are rooted in what early childhood educators consider developmentally appropriate — not just whatever photographs well.

Yes, Susie Allison published Busy Toddler's Guide to Actual Parenting, which translates her online philosophy into book form. The title mirrors her recurring hashtag #actualparenting, emphasizing a grounded, realistic approach to raising young children rather than picture-perfect parenting ideals.

Playing Preschool is one of Susie Allison's owned programs, listed alongside the core Busy Toddler brand in her content portfolio. It gives parents a structured, play-based curriculum to use at home with preschool-aged children, reflecting her core belief in hands-on learning over worksheets or screen-heavy instruction.

Busy Toddler uses 'Willy Wonka phase' to describe the stretch of summer when parents need to lean into increasingly imaginative and over-the-top activities to keep toddlers engaged. It captures that mid-to-late summer feeling where simple ideas no longer cut it and you start reaching for bigger, more creative solutions. The phrase has landed strongly with her audience of parents surviving long summer days.

It is Susie Allison's tagline, and it captures the honest reality of parenting toddlers: you get through the day by stringing together short activities until nap time arrives as a reset. Rather than projecting an effortless parenting lifestyle, the phrase signals that her content is built around real, manageable moments — not elaborate projects requiring hours of prep.

The #actualparenting hashtag is a deliberate signal that Susie Allison's content is positioned against aspirational, curated parenting culture. Her posts lean into imperfect, in-the-trenches moments — interrupted conversations, messy activities, survival mode — rather than polished highlight reels. The hashtag also ties directly to the title of her book.

Busy Toddler's activities and advice are aimed primarily at parents of toddlers and preschool-aged children, roughly the one-to-five age range. Her Playing Preschool program and activity ideas align with what early childhood educators consider developmentally appropriate for that window — which makes sense given her background as a K–1 teacher.

Busy Toddler's TikTok has been inactive for several years, with no meaningful uploads in that time. Her active platforms are Instagram and YouTube, where she maintains a large following and a consistent posting schedule. Anyone looking for her current content should go to those two platforms.

Busy Toddler has built an audience of over 2.5 million followers combined across her platforms, placing her firmly in the Macro creator tier. The overwhelming majority of her audience is US-based, and her engagement runs well above the typical benchmark for parenting content at her scale — a sign that followers are actively using her activity ideas, not just passively scrolling.