The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to stay at home and practice self-quarantine. However, the lockdown has started taking a toll on our mental health. Stress and anxiety are on the rise and all of us are in a desperate need of finding ways that’ll keep us positive and motivated. And to bring back the smiles on the faces of his neighbours, a 6-year-old boy came up with a unique plan.
According to CBC, Callaghan McLaughlin who lives in Saanich, British Columbia, decided to set up a joke stand in his driveway for the passerby to enjoy his free humour, while socially distancing from each other.
He says:
“There’s a lot of stress in the world and I kind of want to get some smiles on people’s faces.”
The kiddo has been making people laugh for the past week with the limited number of jokes that he has learnt from a kid-friendly joke book with one-liners. He had set up his joke counter at the end of his driveway on Penrhyn Street.
Need a laugh during these stressful times? Callaghan McLaughlin, a 6-year-old boy in Cadboro Bay, has you covered with his free walk-by/drive-by joke stand. @MikeMcArthur_vi stopped by to check it out. pic.twitter.com/vfU3UMmApJ
— All Points West (@AllPointsWestBC) April 24, 2020
“Callaghan has been actively telling us one-liners and knock-knock jokes for the past six months or so. We felt it was time for a fresh audience,” his mom, Kelsea McLaughlin said to Yahoo Life.
Kelsea said that Callaghan is ‘an extrovert and very social’ and was missing interacting with the neighbourhood kids because of the pandemic.
Hero.
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) April 26, 2020
Hence, she came up with an idea to let him socialise with the community but from a safe distance.
“We sent a plea out on social media to come and stop by for friends and neighbours. I knew that he would feel more successful if he got a few friendly and familiar faces,” his mother said.
Callaghan now opens his stand in the morning and tries to give the passerby an hour of ‘free smiles’ before taking a lunch break.
“He typically sets up around 9:30 a.m. and spends about an hour outside. He goes back after lunch for another hour and a half or so. Our front yard also has a pretty neat treehouse so he toggles back and forth when he spots a potential customer approaching,” Kelsea added.
Callaghan reportedly gets a lot of pedestrian visitors since his stall is close to Cadboro Bay. He is definitely enjoying the attention of his community. “I like getting to be outside and sometimes my friends walk by that I haven’t seen for a while from school. My principal came by too,” the elated kiddo said.
“Most people at minimum give him a smile or wave. Several people do stop and ask to hear a joke, and typically reciprocate with one of their own,” his mom Kelsea says.
Callaghan said he offered his service free of cost because he wanted people to save their money for other things. “Some people need the money for groceries now instead of jokes,” he says.
Callaghan’s little act of kindness and his sweet way to cheer people up during such an unprecedented crisis just warms my heart. Sometimes we get to learn so much from kids, right?