The Bar Test for Toddler-Speak

Arielle Jackson has this bar test for startup founders: would you actually say that sentence at a bar? Nobody walks into a brewery and says "we're leveraging synergies to optimize our go-to-market strategy." They'd get punched.

Same test works on toddlers. You're standing there going "we need to transition to our bedtime routine now" and your kid's staring at you like you're speaking Klingon. Meanwhile, your friend at the barbecue just says "time for bed" to their kid and everyone moves along.

The difference? Your friend isn't trying to sound like a parenting influencer. They're using actual words that humans say to other humans. "iPad time is done." Not "we're concluding our screen engagement period."

You wouldn't talk like a corporate memo at happy hour. Stop talking like a parenting podcast to a three-year-old. They need words people actually use, not whatever you think parenting is supposed to sound like.