Understanding the Latest Kid Trend

If you’ve been anywhere around children this year, you may have heard a sudden declaration of “six seven!”. This youth fad spread rapidly through classrooms, playgrounds, sporting clubs and social media. It’s one of those trends that becomes popular not because it makes sense, but because repeating it feels funny. Unlike previous nonsense trends such as the “cheese touch”, which at least had a story behind it, this one has little logic. Even the kids repeating it often admit they have no idea what it refers to.

Where Did “6 7” Come From?

If you ask a child what it means, most will shrug or say “I don’t know”. Others will confidently give an explanation they’ve heard, even if it isn’t quite accurate. With modern meme culture, the meaning gets lost quickly.

The trend seems to trace back to a 2025 rap track by Skrilla, which repeatedly uses the phrase “six seven”. The song became popular on YouTube and TikTok, and then into kid culture. But even the reference in the song doesn’t have a clear meaning and apparently Skrilla has stated,

“I never put an actual meaning on it”.

Some people suggest it relates to 67th Street in either Philadelphia, Chicago or New York City.  Others suggest it refers to the American police radio code of  “10-67”. But none of these explanations have been confirmed.

A major boost came from basketball highlight videos featuring LaMelo Ball, who is 6 foot 7 inches tall. Videos using the same audio clip spread through sports and meme pages, helping the phrase take off among younger audiences. Kids watching these short videos began repeating “six seven” because it sounded funny, not because they understood the context.

As the meme spread, any original meaning started to fade away, and the phrase became a nonsense, meaningless trend.

What Does It Mean When Kids Say It?

It seems that when kids say it, it doesn’t mean anything in particular. They have no secret meaning, hidden message, or deeper purpose. It’s just a little shared joke.

It’s short, catchy, and a bit silly. They repeat it for fun, to get a laugh, to feel part of the trend, or simply because it’s the thing everyone else is saying.  Teachers around the world have confirmed that it’s become a form of playful “brain-rot humour” with no real message behind it. Think of it as the modern equivalent of quoting a catchphrase from a TV show, even when it makes no logical sense outside the original scene.

Why Is It So Popular?

• It spreads easily in short video formats through TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels
• A playful hand gesture has developed alongside it
• Saying it helps kids feel “in on the joke”
• It’s annoying, which makes it even funnier to kids
• Adults don’t get it — which increases the appeal

Like most viral playground phrases, it will likely lose momentum once the novelty fades or another meme takes its place.  For now, “six seven” is simply the latest wave of kid meme culture. It’s entertaining for them, confusing for adults, and destined to disappear as quickly as it appeared.