Meet Pete Pallet
About Pete Pallet
Pete Pallet is a loveable chap here to help us clap away the nerves and learn lots of important lessons. Our pal loves to go on adventures that help his new friends get to know more about the environment, staying healthy, and much more!
Origins of A Loveable Pal
Author David Frosdick on the Inspiration Behind Pete Pallet
“Pete Pallet is a loveable character children can relate to and learn from, and Pete Pallet’s New School and the support song ‘Clap Away the Nerves’ has been received by parents of children about to start school as reassuring because ‘even grown-ups get nervous’.”
While working in a warehouse, I found myself manoeuvring a pallet labelled ‘made in Vietnam’. This wasn’t out of the ordinary and yet, I was struck. The words I’d heard so many times growing up ‘if only it could talk…’ came to the forefront. So, I imagined it and Pete Pallet, the loveable children’s character was born!
At first, he was just a basic idea, but soon Pete Pallet became about something more. He became someone children should be able to learn from and Pete Pallet’s New School and its support song ‘ Clap Away the Nerves’ has since been received by parents of children about to start school as reassuring because even ‘grown-ups get nervous’.
I could easily recite predictable yarns on why Pete Pallet became a learning tool, but my inspiration was truly my soon. What struck me most at this time was the damage OCD did to my son, Adam. Whilst on holiday in Lanzarote in the Summer of 2001, he regularly reminded his mother that ‘next year is summer camp but I’m not going’.
Adam’s mum tried everything to calm him down 12 months prior and, as some parents were needed as ‘helpers’, she said she would travel to ‘scary Norfolk’ and stay with him to alleviate his worries. Unfortunately, this still didn’t help and it continued for almost an entire year with common exchanges of ‘no, I’m not’ and ‘yes, you are’. Then, the due date arrived and mum with Adam went to the village school. In the grounds, there were enough tears flowing for the children and staff to sail their way to summer camp.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t just Adam who felt this way. Aside from teachers and support staff, all those travelling were traumatised by the spectre of leaving junior school and, for many, leaving mum for the 1st time. A few parents labelled Adam a ‘home-bird’ when, in truth, he was a little boy traumatised by slumbering OCD and its associated demons.
Thus, Pete Pallet was born to be a loveable pal to make these large changes easier. He was created as a vehicle to address, entertain, and reassure children that entering school and an adult word full of mystery and adventure does not need to be scary.
Pete Pallet is a UK Registered Trademark.
