One of the best things about kids is that they usually don’t have a large enough frame of reference to understand just how terrible the world can truly be. With only a bit of life experience behind them, their tiny, still-developing minds might think that dropping an ice cream cone is an apocalyptic event or that the internet going out during an episode of their favorite show is tantamount to their house burning down.
With this in mind, we present what could be either the best or worst form of self-help we’ve heard of to date: A pep talk hotline created by kindergartners.
NPR detailed the creation of Peptoc, which looks to help callers by providing them with sage advice from little people who only recently learned how to poop in a toilet instead of their pants. The hotline, we learn, was made by students at West Side Elementary in California with guidance from teachers Jessica Martin and Asherah Weiss. The idea came from Weiss being “inspired by her students’ positive attitudes, despite all they’ve been through” across years filled with wildfires and a pandemic.
In practice, this takes form of a number that allows people to hear from kids who might have the solution to their fears, anger, or sadness. After selecting “If you need a pep talk from kindergartners” from the number’s main menu, callers can get a shot of positivity from West Side Elementary’s students. One kid, for example, says “be grateful for yourself” while another states, “if you’re feeling up high and unbalanced, think of groundhogs.” The wisest among them simply says, “Bro, you’re looking great.”
Martin says the hotline was getting “up to 700 callers per hour” just two days after it launched, which must mean that its supply of burrowing rodent imagery and straightforward compliments has somehow turned out to be the perfect, simple solution to complicated problems.
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Peptoc is available at (707) 998-8410. West Side Elementary is also taking donations to help fund the hotline and enrichment programs through its website.
[via Boing Boing]
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