British toddler obsessed with Ms. Rachel shows off American accent in viral video

For years, parents in the United States have been sharing videos of their Peppa Pig-obsessed toddlers speaking in polished English accents and asking questions like “May we go on holiday, please?"

Now, it's British parents' turn. Kelly Convey, a mom in the United Kingdom, says her 21-month-old daughter, Bea, is talking like an American after binge-watching Ms. Rachel.

Ms. Rachel — real name Rachel Griffin Accurso — is a preschool singer turned YouTube sensation best known for her educational video series titled “Songs for Littles.” She was once described as a “rock star for the under 4 set," by NBC correspondent Gadi Schwartz, whose daughter Kira, 3, is a mega fan.

Alongside her band, which includes her husband, Broadway composer Aron, Ms. Rachel uses music to make language learning more fun. Her songs are also designed to encourage movement, listening skills and social emotional growth. Since launching her YouTube channel in 2019, Ms. Rachel's videos amassed more than 2 billion views.

“Has anybody else got a British — and I have to stress British — toddler who watches Ms. Rachel and, as they’ve started to speak, you realize that they’ve actually got an American accent?” Convey asks in a now-viral TikTok video.

The London-based comedian then turns the camera on her daughter Bea, and together they go over a list of words, including car and zebra.

“Cah,” Convey says, to which Bea replies, “Car.”

Convey pronounces zebra, “zeh-bruh,” while Bea uses the American pronunciation with a long e-sound.

“She’s started saying ‘here’ instead of ‘heh-er,’ and the zebra thing is surreal,” Convey tells TODAY.com. “But luckily she still says waw-tuh and not water!”

Bea’s American accent is “quite strong,” according to her mother.

“She’s 21 months, and she’s only just started talking in full sentences but you can hear the tone in her voice is very American,” Convey says, with a laugh.

Convey jokes that she'll have to put her foot down if Bea starts referring to holidays as vacations.

"We love Ms. Rachel in our house. She's so engaging, and she just knows how to speak to children. She makes them feel like she's talking directly to them," Convey says. "I think she's absolutely brilliant."

Comments continue to pour in on Convey’s TikTok video, which is captioned, “Born in the USA.” Some parents said they are experiencing the exact same phenomenon with their British kids.

"That's nothing my daughters nursery teacher called me and asked which part of America my baby was from... She's British," one person wrote.

Another person added that their young neighbor watched Ms. Rachel religiously and at 7-years-old he "still speaks American."

A majority of the comments were about Ms. Rachel being payback for Peppa Pig, a British preschool animated television series that has swept the United States.

According to Parrot Analytics, Peppa Pig was the second most in-demand cartoon during the pandemic, just behind SpongeBob SquarePants. It was so popular that American kids began developing British accents and using British words (think petrol instead of gas and biscuit instead of cookie). The phenomenon was documented by parents on social media using the hashtag #Peppa Effect.

As one mom wrote on Convey's TikTok, "My American, peppa pig obsessed 2 year old asked me what I was mending the other day."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com