11-year-old TikTok celebrity scores big deals

May is celebrated as Child Month and some of our most brilliant minds are our youngest.

Eleven-year-old Leigh'Aysia Headley is one such genius who is a straight A-student, dancer and a trending TikToker whose talent and brilliance has earned her major corporate deals.

In our STAR Kids Rollout feature, Leigh'Aysia shared why her witty, creative skills have garnered the more than 135,000 followers and four million viewers her TikTok account has racked up within two years.

"We do lyrical, dancehall, any kind of dance we do it. [I also like] doing make-up, challenges with my mummy and my brother and just being real with my real personality," Leigh'Aysia told THE STAR. She currently shares that account with her mom and 16-year-old brother, Liam Headley, who's featured in two of the family's most liked videos.

Leigh'Aysia, who's affectionately called 'Leigh', said despite the fun, edutainment and attention, it can become "overwhelming"

"Because sometimes you can be in public and somebody just calls your name, and it's scary, like, 'How do you know my name'? It's scary, and then you realise, 'Oh'. And then you have some people that will text you randomly and be like, 'I saw you here, I saw you there'," she shared.

However, she added that she's always reassured by her mother, Danielle Harrison, who restores her confidence while keeping her 'grounded'.

"She always tells me don't really listen to anything that others say because they're just jealous and they don't have any personality, they're insecure to pick on an 11-year-old," Leigh'Aysia said.

Harrison, a single mother of two, often refers to her daughter as her "bestie" with whom she shared a great relationship. In an emotionally tearful confession of love, she broke down while expressing how extremely special both her children are to her.

"Leigh and Liam mean everything to me. I basically do everything surrounding them; they are my 24 hours. Sometimes I say I want a break because it's always me and them, but when I do get the break, I feel like I'm getting crazy, like I need to get them back now. I enjoy being around them. They are my life," she shared. Harrison encouraged parents to build a friendship with their children because it allows for openness and honesty as they are more comfortable "to share everything with them". However, she is adamant that there is no difficulty in scolding them when necessary.

"They know that when I get serious, they know not to play with me. When I'm serious, everybody's nervous so they try not to put me in that space. So they are mindful, they try not to step out of boundary because they don't like mommy being upset. So, when it's time to get stern, I get schoolwork done, house chores done, everything done because they know they don't want to get me cross," she stated with a laugh.

In balancing her time perfectly, Leigh'Aysia, a St George's Girls' Primary School senior prefect, is also vying for the position of head girl. The brilliant fifth-grader is currently preparing for her PEP exams, hoping to transition to her "dream school", Campion College.

As she continues to enjoy her childhood while being a 'top student', she is also achieving monetary gains.

"I've done two Grab-and-Go commercials, one about Independence Day and one about Emancipation Day. I've done a Digicel commercial, a fashion show on TVJ [and] a 'Barbie Girl' commercial with [the shoe company] Quik Trenz by Lucien Harrison," she said.

Harrison said she is very supportive of the new trends of online jobs and creating an unorthodox way of raising children, as she encourages parents to allow their children to explore their talents, as long as it's morally correct.

"[Social media] has its negative and positive sides but it's for you as a parent to guide your children and let them know what is wrong from right. And the algorithm of TikTok is whatever you search, that's what comes up in your feeds. So you have to have a relationship with your kids where you can monitor what they're doing [and] viewing because if not, anything will pop up," shared Harrison, noting that Gen-Z individuals are making money from TikTok.

"As young as she is, they're making money from it. So, if a child can be independent early and you teach them proper money management, I don't see anything wrong with it. I would encourage it for who can manage it."

As her popularity grows, Leigh'Aysia remains humble and advised other children who aspire to be like her, to firstly "always be [their] own best friends".

"Don't really follow what other people are doing because that could stray you unto the wrong path - just be yourself," the aspiring criminal lawyer advised.