Two words have taken over the world's classrooms - here's why your kids won't stop saying '6-7'
By Amy Lyall|
Every parent who's just spent the school holidays at home with their kids will tell you they've heard them laugh, or joke about, "6-7".?
Now, a lot of us grew up in the generation of the combination of "69" earning sniggers and giggles anytime it was mentioned at school, but that's old news now.?
The surprising thing about the "6-7" meme which has gone viral is that it really doesn't seem to make any sense.
What does '67' mean??
For those who have not been introduced to the viral meme yet, it involves saying "six seven" and often adding a double hand gesture like weighing up two options.?
Kids are shouting it in public and in classrooms, and the meme has even popped up in a recent episode of South Park.?
But the issue a lot of adults seem to have with it is that, well... it just makes no sense. It turns out "67" doesn't mean anything.?
It's become so wildly popular, and the phrase is so vague that it could mean so many things, that it's actually started to mean nothing.
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The phrase has taken on a life of its own, with over a million TikTok videos related to it and constant mentions at school.?
Teachers have tried to ban the phrase from classrooms, which has only propelled it further into their young lives, even going as far as to create '67' Halloween costumes.?
Where did '67' come from?
The whole '67' thing dates back to December 2024, when hip hop artist Skrilla released a song called Doot Doot.
In the song, he raps, "6-7, I just bipped right on the highway (bip, bip)" and it started to gain traction.
However, it seems the phrase gained viral momentum from basketball.
One creator used it to say NBA player LaMelo Ball plays basketball like he's 6'2" tall when he's actually 6'7".
After that LaMelo Ball video, basketball players across leagues started saying the phrase during press conferences and during on-court interviews.?
What a psychologist wants parents to know about it?
Dr Becky Kennedy, a clinical psychologist and mother of three, has weighed in with her take on Instagram.
Sure, it's no doubt frustrating or annoying when your kids, or children in your classroom, won't stop with the "six-seveeen" but she believes it's "harmful" to see it this way, because you're missing an important part about it.?
Dr Kennedy explained "67" is meaningless in content, but it's not meaningless in feeling: "Think about when you were a kid, what's more powerful than feeling like you belong?"
Knowing and being able to laugh about the slang puts kids in the same club, and unites them together against those who aren't in on it: adults.?
"Imagine being in class and a couple kids are laughing when the teacher says, 'OK, do problem 6 and 7.' And they go, '67.' And now all of a sudden, you have a chance to say '67,'" Dr Kennedy said.
"Maybe you're not even friends with these kids, but in these moments, right in that second, you feel like you belong. That's not meaningless."
She knows how annoying it can be to have to put up with hearing it over and over, but hopes it'll give parents understanding about what it means on a deeper level.?
But in the caption of her video she did make it clear that she knows that this can be really disruptive in the classroom, but wanted to give teachers a different perspective.?
"To be clear, trying to understand what a kid gets out of a certain behaviour is not the same as permitting or reinforcing that behaviour," she wrote.
"I know that kids' repeating '6/7' can become very disruptive in some classrooms and homes จC that disruption is very real. Importantly, necessary first step in making progress on any problem is actually trying to understand it first.?
"All of this to say, parents and teachers: I hope this framework might give you a new way to understand this if it is a problemกญ because a new understanding allows for a new solution."
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