People are debating the merits of a 24-hour daycare and the discussion is eye-opening
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about the need for this.

Are 24-hour daycares a good idea?
Millions of American parents utilize daycare centers while they work. Since most people work during the day, most daycare center hours fall somewhere between 7:30am and 5:30pm. It's rare to find a daycare that's open after normal working hours.
But one "24-hour" daycare in Houston captured people's attention—and sparked a debate—when a mom posted about it on TikTok.
Adventure Kids Playcare in Houston isn't actually open 24 hours a day but it does offer childcare up to 10:00pm during the week and until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. In the video, the mom drops her daughter off and we hear the employee tell her they close at midnight. The mom later says she picked her daughter up at 11:55pm.
Reactions to the video rand the gamut from "24-hour daycares are a brilliant idea for parents who work odd shifts" to "Moms shouldn't be leaving their kids at a daycare late at night just so they can go out," sparking a fascinating and eye-opening discussion.
First, here's the video that kicked off the whole debate:
@watchingalicia 😅😅🤷🏾♀️ #fypシ゚viral #fyp #girlmom #daughter #momsoftiktok #parenting #momlife
The video hit the popular Instagram account The Shade Room where people debated whether this kind of daycare arrangement was a positive or negative, and there was a wide range of opinions on all sides.
Some folks poo-pooed the idea of a 24-hour daycare center in general, which most people were quick to squash. Not everyone works a 9-to-5 job, and not everyone has access to people who can watch their kids in the evenings when they're at work, so a childcare center that's open late or all night provides a service some working parents might need.
"The convenience of a 24-hour daycare can't be overstated, especially for parents working unconventional hours," shared one X user. "It's a game-changer for the night shift workers and emergency responders who keep our cities running."
But a lot of the debate centered around parents leaving their kids at a care center not to work, but to go out at night and socialize. Some people felt strongly that it was inappropriate for kids to be up well past a standard child's bedtime waiting for their parent to pick them up. Some felt that a parent should have a babysitter come to the house so the child can sleep in their own bed and not be kept awake until late. On the flip side, others pointed out that a late night playing with other kids at a licensed, reputable facility would be fun for a lot of kids, and it may actually be a safer option than hiring a teenager to come stay at your house while your kid sleeps.
Others debated the appropriateness of a mother leaving her child at a facility late at night to go out on the town in general, stating that work is one thing but going out for purely social or personal reasons is another. Interestingly, this element of the discourse seemed to center entirely around mothers, which could be a whole other discussion for another day. Some people claimed that a mom dropping her kid off to go out late is being selfish and putting her needs above her child's. Others pointed out that all mothers—or parents—need breaks sometimes, and no one can judge what another parent does without knowing their full circumstances. As one commenter wrote, "Not everybody has a village."
The final fascinating split in this debate were the parents who feel unsafe leaving their children with anyone other than immediate family versus the parents who feel it's good for kids to have other caregivers and socialize with kids they don't know. The varying levels of trust or mistrust, comfort or fear parents have when it comes to their children offers some insight into how differently people view the world. Is one side right and the other wrong, or is it merely a difference in perception and personal preference?
If nothing else, hopefully the breadth of the discussion opened people's eyes to different viewpoints and to life circumstances they may not have considered. Often we can get stuck looking at and judging things through our own lens, forgetting that there's a whole big world of diverse situations we may not even be aware of that might make one person's "nope" another person's "yes, please and thank you."
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- Four reasons why we should stop shaming parents whose kids go to daycare - Upworthy ›
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.