Hide the Broccoli in the Sugar
Inspired by Ivan Zhao episode
Ivan's Notion lesson—hide the learning inside the thing they want—is exactly how you get toddlers to do literally anything.
Ivan Zhao calls it sugar-coated broccoli. People don't want the broccoli, but they like sugar, so you hide the broccoli inside. Users don't want to learn your complex system - they want their problem solved. Make the medicine go down with the sugar.
Your toddler won't practice counting. But they'll count gummy bears before eating them. They won't practice colors. But they'll sort the colored blocks by which ones are "boy colors" and which are "girl colors" in a way that will require years of future therapy to unpack.
They won't get dressed. But they'll spend twenty minutes putting on a superhero costume that's somehow more complicated than regular clothes. You're not tricking them - you're just designing for the reality that they want play and you want them to stop being naked.
The broccoli is still there. They're learning math while they think they're protecting their snacks from you. You're both getting what you want. That's not manipulation. That's just really good product design.
