Little kids love watching videos of other little kids - the unboxing of toys, playing with toys, performing basic daily actions, dancing to 30-second videos (show me a kid who doesn't know the renegade or whatever new TikTok dance). Have you ever seen a five-year-old with a phone? Eyes are glued to the screen and expect every phone call to be declined, every text message to be swiped up on and any notification to be ignored. Not to sound like a #boomer or anything, but young children have an almost primal level of understanding and appreciation for technology in ways unseen. I mean, when I was younger, and *cue the music*, Youtube was the ugly redheaded stepchild of the social media world meant for late-night procrastination and weird compilation cat videos. And now? We can't get enough of it.
The best thing out right now is created by Zhuri James. You might know her father … Lebron James - starting Forward of the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, or as Zhuri calls him, in her latest video, "friend daddy". "All Things Zhuri", a Youtube channel centering the youngest member of the James-basketball dynasty - follows Zhuri as she teaches her audience how to make smoothies, D.I.Y flower crowns, and peanut butter power balls - is the definition of cuteness level overload. Zhuri practically created the term "cute-little-kid".
In her first video, we see Zhuri make smoothies for her fam. She walks the audience through putting the ingredients in the blender and she eats the fruit while constructing the smoothie (#WeAllLoveTheSnackBeforeTheSnack). She even drops a couple of berries on the floor that she puts back in the blender as someone beyond the camera tells to put the fruit down somewhere else (glad to see the five-second rule is still reaching the youth). She blends the fruit together and after she is finished exclaims to the audience "and now we're gonna have an adult pour it [the smoothie] in cups" before she hand-delivers smoothies to people around the house.
Despite her big and bubbly personality, we, the audience, can sense the nervousness and anxiety Zhuri feels as she films her Youtube videos. This is not to say there should be no outward displaced of anxiety; she's a five-year-old kid. Most of us get nervous when ordering at the counter, I can't imagine the vulnerability that has to be overcome when you're putting out a video to thousands of subscribers by the way. Her subscriber count by the way: 90.7K. The kid is a star and I am sure the nerves will go away as she continues to build her platform.
I mention her nervousness because we also get to see it go away when she makes peanut butter power balls with her "friend daddy" in her latest video. All the nervousness and anticipation leaves her voice as her dad enters the kitchen and finds his seat next to her. Her nerves dissipate as her protector and friend is right next to her. She's able to shine without worry or fear. We get some cute kid moments as she spills vanilla on her finger and looks beyond the camera to ask, "Can I taste it?" Heads up kids, vanilla, "taste like medicine". We get cuteness overload of father-daughter moments that will leave you smiling ear to ear. "Yeah, add your finishing touch on top", Lebron says as Zhuri places a chocolate chip onto a power ball. Each moment is heartwarming as the two laugh and joke and create songs ("we making power balls at the same dang time"). The moments offer a new side of the mega-athlete, the world does not get to see: Lebron James The Father. In a world where the black athlete is stripped of their humanity as society demands high performance and perfection and extreme backlash when it is not received, these moments remind us of the life outside of the court. Lebron James is more than an athlete and Zhuri is everything you need to see.
