Kids Are Speaking With British Accents Thanks To “Peppa Pig Effect”
Uhhh this is TRUE! My son Cash says “daddy, bird, and come on” all with a British accent!
Since the pandemic hit, many parents have lifted screen time limits for their kids and it seems a lot of youngsters have been using their bonus time to watch more of the British cartoon “Peppa Pig.” So many of them are binge-watching the show that it’s led to a surprising side effect – they’re developing English accents. And it’s happening so much that there’s even a name for it, the so-called “Peppa Effect.”
Kids in the U.S. are mimicking their adorable pig pal from across the pond, with parents reporting their young sons and daughters are saying things like “Father Christmas” instead of Santa Claus and “telly” rather than television. Preetika Rana recently posted on Twitter that her five-year-old niece in New York City had an American accent before the pandemic, but now she “has a posh English accent after spending a year at home watching ‘Peppa Pig.’”
California resident Matias Cavallin replied, “On a recent VACATION, my 5-year-old dared tell me that she was loving her HOLIDAY.” And loads of other parents chimed in, sharing that their kids now use British words like “petrol station” instead of gas station and one Rhode Island mom shares that her six-year-old is now referring to the bathroom as a “water closet.” The show’s owner, Entertainment One Ltd, explains the “Peppa Effect” like this: “Young Peppa fans see her as a friend … and, as we do with friends that we admire, pick up some of their characteristics.”
