Two-year-old TikToker is winning the hearts of locals
The social media sensation and TikToker popularly known for sharing educational content for toddlers.
Two-year-old Lethukuthula Nongcebo continues to marvel the hearts of South Africans with her reading skills and squeaky personality.
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The social media sensation and TikToker popularly known for sharing educational content for Toddlers, rose to the top of social media trends after her mother began posting videos of the toddler on Tiktok earlier this year.
The young digital creator’s account sits at over 900k followers on TikTok and 100k on Instagram and has rose to notoriety which has seen her working with big SA brands thanks to the power of social media.
“We bought her books and educational toys from early on but we also made her watch educational cartoons but the turning point was when her older cousins, would spend time teaching her and asking her about the different parts of the body and her face would light up and respond so we promptly moved to other parts of the body,” Lethu’s mother, Ntombikayise Bhengu, recalls how it all began.
She shared they began to introduce then 16-month-old Lethu to shapes and colours before she turned two but it wasn’t until she stumbled upon phonics that she was surprised at what her toddler could really do.
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“It really was fascinating because I am not a teacher, but it prompted me to research more about how to teach a child and we slowly taught her to sounding out each letter to build up an entire word.
“We began with most common ones, and would write out 3 letter words for her and taught her how to blend.”
Young Lethu’s favorite book, Letter Land, became the first of many the mother bought which the mother shared played a vital role in installing confidence in her daughter.
“Parents have massive role in teaching their children, they are the answer to changing the education system in the country. Start with what you have.
“The biggest hurdle especially in back communities is thinking we teach them at a certain age, that only limits them, they are a lot more capable than we would like to believe,” the mother of one said.
“They need to see us as parents reading as well and they will be inspired. That builds imagination and creativity for a child… it exposes them to a world of possibilities and allows them to dream.”
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Bhengu co-founded Mentees Arch in 2017 with Lethu’s father Phakiso Nongcebo to assist learners from public schools in their community.
The NPO based in their Soweto home, was used to assist learners to apply to institutions of higher learning and offered free tutoring lessons and mentoring, a move she says was an attempt to close the gap for township learners and inspire a different environment.
“Although we have stopped it for now, to focus on Lethu, the reason we started was because we understood the unfortunate reality in South Africa is that quality education depends on wealth,” said Bhengu.
“Education was something my mother did not compromise on and so although I could not choose the kind of high school I went to, but I made it my mission to get into the best university and that is what we wanted to give to our community.”
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