Kid belts out every word of a song from the new 'Matilda' and Dad's response is hilarious
'Don't tell me you can't memorize your math tables no more.'

11-year-old Nathan belts out "Naughty" from "Matilda."
As a parent, you want your kid to find their space in the world, discover what they're passionate about and build the skills needed to be successful in whatever path they choose.
You also want them to do their dang homework. Even the stuff they aren't particularly thrilled about.
Balancing those things isn't always easy, especially when you have a kid who has very specific interests and very specific non-interests. And that familiar struggle is hilariously depicted in a delightful, viral family car ride.
In the video shared by Samantha Broxton on her TikTok channel, 11-year-old Kevin sits in the back seat singing his heart out to the song "Naughty" from the new Netflix version of "Matilda." The film was just released in December, which makes it all the more impressive that Nathan knows the whole thing by heart.
The "by heart" part is what prompted Nathan's dad, Kevin, to pause the song part-way through and interject with the most classic dad comment ever.
"Don't tell me you can't memorize your math facts no more," he said. "OK? I don't hear that. Multiplication, division, all that. Don't tell me you can't do it."
Kevin is a musician himself and a fan of musical theater and you can see him enjoying Nathan's singalong, but he's also a dad wanting his kids to get the most out of their education. He may have a point about where his son puts his memorization energy, but that didn't deter Nathan from waiting patiently for Dad to turn the song back on so he could continue his performance.
In Nathan's defense, it is easier to memorize things when they're put to music, which is why Schoolhouse Rock! exists. Perhaps Nathan should find a program that puts math facts to music, though that's still not quite as much fun as singing along to "Matilda."
Samantha tells Upworthy that Nathan has been into musicals since "Hamilton" came out, which makes what happened after this video went viral all the more exciting for the Broxtons.
As the "Matilda" video started circulating on Twitter, another video of Nathan singing in the car started making the rounds along with it. In this one, he is singing "Wait for It" from "Hamilton."
\u201cLOOK at baby @leslieodomjr. \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\u201d— April (@April) 1673367002
His passion is so clear that it even caught the attention of Leslie Odom Jr., who originally performed the song in the role of Aaron Burr on Broadway. Odom shared the video with a message of praise for Nathan.
"Young brother is far more committed than I even dreamt of being at his age," he wrote. "This is conviction! And I love to see it. On this trajectory, he'll eclipse me in no time."
\u201cYoung brother is far more committed than I even dreamt of being at his age. This is conviction! And I love to see it. On this trajectory, he\u2019ll eclipse me in no time. Ha \ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Leslie Odom, Jr. (@Leslie Odom, Jr.) 1673372069
The family was blown away by the tweet.
"I’m so touched by Leslie acknowledging our Nathan," Samantha says. "We think Nathan is talented and could really be amazing in the theater world, but we are obviously very biased as his parents and family. Hearing from someone like Leslie Odom, Jr., with his body of work and broad range and depth of talent, it was really like an overwhelming external confirmation that something similar might really start to be possible for Nathan in the near future."
Nathan's reaction to seeing Leslie Odom Jr.'s tweet, shared by Samantha with his permission, is so pure.
@raisingself Shared with permission from Nathan. He is so thankful for everyone’s kind words and encouragement. This year he want to get voice lessons and dance lessons and get even more serious about Musical Theater.
Samantha says she and her family have been sharing stories from everyday life on social media for a few years. "It truly is a labor of love, rooted in the desire to build community and share what we have and are actively learning about family, love, healing and adulting," she says, adding that their content is mostly unscripted and that their children have a say in what they post and how the videos are edited. "This is super important to us," she says. "We make the decision to continue to make content as a family, and we wrestle with it every year."
With the positive feedback Nathan is receiving from the musical theater community and people in general, it appears it was definitely a good choice this year.
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.