That's cute. It's funny how being nice and caring for kids can have a lasting effect on them

...the toddlers are crossing the street by themselves in this story?

"Oh bother." - Said in the accent of a pudgy stuffed bear

effect*

Affect
transitive verb

: to put on a false appearance of (something) : to pretend to feel, have, or do (something) : feign

I was kind of hoping the toddlers would create an ultra polite aristocracy as things escalated.

Yes, but also this usage was the noun form (basically a shortened variant of "affectation").

You affect something and then you have had an effect on it.

No, there's a crossing guard! Didn't you read that part?

In this case, "affect" and "affect" are two different words that are spelled the same but mean different things and are pronounced differently

How would you even know that?

As a rule of thumb, that is correct. But there are exceptions to that rule and the example given is one of them.

Context. The story is about accents.

Yeah that seems weird. A toddler is basically a 2-year-old, and as the term says, they're not so good at walking by themselves.

Maybe OOP uses the term differently.

The rest of the story: absolutely feasible. And finding the origin can be fun.

Never heard of the word but I'm not a native speaker so I assumed it was saying "she had an effect (on the children)"

Because I know enough English and recognize which word is being used based on which one actually fits

I'd argue this isn't an exception as this doesn't fit the rule at all, as neither word is being used here, a word that's spelled the same as one of them is causing confusion as it's a fairly uncommon word

To be fair, "affect" in this story isn't a super common word

As mentioned elsewhere, it's a shortening of "affectation", and is pronounced a fair bit differently: where "affect" like you're thinking has emphasis on the second syllable, the "affect" in the story has it on the first syllable, and even puts the "f" in the first syllable rather than the second.

Alternative hypothesis: reincarnation.

The entire kindergarten class is reincarnated elderly British pensioners.

"Fake British accent". It's just a Wisconsin accent...

I think they'd only really need to be worried if they start apologising to inanimate objects.

Or, and hear me out, the fake British accent never sounded British in the first place. And the adults in the story just can't tell accents apart?

Very sensible toddlers.

I walked to school with other kids starting in kindergarten, when I was five. But, I don't think five years old is a "toddler".

At the slightly busy road in front of the school there were swing out stop signs. I've never seen them anywhere else. Sixth graders manned the stop signs. They stood on the curb and pulled on a handle that would swing the overhead stop sign out over the road. A third kid walked out with a handheld stop sign after the cars stopped and then the kids crossed.

Something happened and that ended. They switched to an adult crossing guard. I'm guessing it was something bad.

Wisconsin accents can be like Welsh (not really but). Bag is pronounced Baig, Bagel is pronounced baggel. They be crazy up there.

Mostly /s

They're from Wisconsin, anyone who went to a boarding school probably sounds "English"

it's the more plausable theory

Ever try to speak with an Irish accent only to end up morphing into Jamaican?

Tell your folks I says hi

Things that are totally real

When I moved to Los Angeles from N WI people would always ask where I was from; sometimes saying "no" when I said Wisconsin.
When I married my wife, somebody at work said it was just so I could get a green card.

one of my most cherished books is a scots translation of winnie the pooh, it sparks joy

That is so absurd it's hilarious. I can't think of what it is about Wisconsin that people are so disbelieving.

What the dickens! you may be on to something.

Pity they can't spell the word effect (Edit: or perhaps they meant affectation?). Maybe they need to watch a bit more peppa pig

Affect can be a noun, and is probably intended in this case

An outward display of emotion? I don't see how that works in this context.

I originally took it to mean she has an effect on the children, but maybe they meant affectation, as in she speaks in an unusual manner. That fits a lot better, but isn't what they wrote.

And the rest of the world subjected to American accents in TV and movies.

"I lived in New York, Troy, I know what a baggel is" -- Britta

We did.

Toddlers are basically 2yo. They toddle, and they don't have the situational awareness to be let into traffic at all. Even with a guard you would not typically let them cross the street without taking them by the hand. And I suspect that's exactly what happened and OOP just didn't mention it. Or they use the term differently.

I got hung up on that because I work with kids that age.

Yes. It perfectly describes in one word what the lady did: deliberately pimp up her accent so it sounds even more British.

lol @herbalgamer@sh.itjust.works already went through all this but I guess their comment is folded in because of all the downvotes they got, so you had to start it again?

I have nothing against people asking about words, but to do it in such an arrogant way and be wrong, ...

edit: yep, they completely edited their comment. No more insults, no more dismissal.

"Ope..."

You don't need a green card for Wisconsin, you need a green card from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Yoopers don't count as Americans.

You don't know Winconsiners, Wisconsinites, whatever. They have standing blood alcohol level of .14 at all times.

I can do a variety of accents, but they all sound like a bad Scottish one.

There's actually a strong connection between the Scottish accent and Jamaican. It's wild, but apparently true.