Did The Baby-Sitters Club on Netflix ruin your childhood?

Don’t be worried Netflix’s The Baby-Sitters Club will ruin your childhood

The stories we consume as children have the power to shape us and leave a lasting mark on us. They are precious, sacred, untouchable. That’s why the news that Netflix was going to offer a “modern update” of Ann M. Martin’s series of books, The Baby-Sitters Club, caused just as much anxiety as excitement.

As it turns out, the fear was completely unwarranted. For an adult who once devoured both the series and its companion books, Baby-Sitters Little Sister, binge-watching Netflix’s take on the beloved novels feels like coming home. Consider it comfort food, and be prepared to want to come back for extra helpings.

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Reconnecting with Kristy Thomas and the rest of the gang is a heartwarming experience. Any small changes to their stories are barely noticeable because they simply fit the characters and the spirit of the original novels; and all that really matters is the overwhelming sense of familiarity with nearly every moment.

Is The Baby-Sitters Club another childhood-ruining reboot? Absolutely not.

The majority of The Baby-Sitters Club’s episodes share titles with the books on which they are based. More importantly, all the meaningful storylines and themes are still present. Growing up is still difficult, no matter what decade it’s in; and the 2020 versions of the club members are, at their cores, exactly who we always knew them to be.

One of the most important changes to the series comes in Episode 4. “Mary Anne Saves the Day” gives trans people, particularly trans children, the type of representation they almost never get and definitely didn’t have back when the books originally rose to fame. In this episode, there’s no melodramatic reveal of Bailey’s identity—Mary Anne just accepts her, and Dawn’s explanation of what it means to be trans is just simplistic enough to be a teaching moment for viewers of all ages.

The casting is also spot-on: Kai Shappley, who plays Bailey, is also a trans child and knew who she was at a very young age. Also of note: when the doctors repeatedly misgender the little girl, the normally-quiet Mary Anne corrects them in a way that never would have been done on TV back in the late 80s or 90s when The Baby-Sitters Club books were in their prime.

"Bailey is not a boy, and by treating her like one, you are completely ignoring who she is. You’re making her feel insignificant and humiliated, and that’s not going to help her feel good, or safe, or calm. So, from here on out, please recognize her for who she is."

Even ER, which was often ahead of its time on many issues, completely botched trans stories as late as 2002’s “Next of Kin.” If only the Mary Anne Spier of 2020 could have been there.

So, even in the places where the Netflix adaptation has made changes, it has either made them for the better or just made them…different. Sometimes, a tweak makes something neither better nor worse.

Case in point: Karen Brewer is somehow completely different than I imagined she’d be after years of reading her Little Sister spin-off; but then again, maybe it’s just a matter of this being Karen as seen through Kristy’s eyes, rather than through her own. Either way, Sophia Reid-Gantzert’s version of Karen is fantastic; so, here’s hoping Netflix gives her her own series, just like the Ann M. Martin did decades ago.

If you grew up with The Baby-Sitters Club, get ready to binge-cry your way through Netflix’s take on your childhood reading. But don’t worry—they’ll be the good kind of tears, not ones of grief.

The Baby-Sitters Club is now streaming on Netflix.