Through the Filter of a Three-Year-Old: Making Information Practical Instead of Performative

 

In our age of information overload — where every scroll brings a new urgent health warning or miracle cure — we’ve lost something essential: the ability to communicate what actually matters. Somewhere between clickbait headlines and academic jargon, practical wisdom has been buried under layers of hype, fear, and unnecessary complexity.

The solution might be simpler than we think. It comes from an unexpected source: explaining gut bacteria to a curious three-year-old who just pretended to bite a hand that had touched a toilet seat.

The Moment of Truth

When a child grabs your hand after you’ve lifted a toilet seat and pretends to bite it, you have seconds to communicate something important. There’s no time for lectures about pathogenic microorganisms or statistics about infection rates. Just a simple truth:

“Now the bacteria on the toilet seat are in your mouth.”

The immediate spitting that follows isn’t fear — it’s understanding. The child has grasped cause and effect in its purest form.

That moment reveals something profound about how we should evaluate all information:
If you can’t explain it clearly enough for a curious child to understand and act on, there might be something wrong with the information — or with your understanding of it.

The Problem with Our Information Diet

We live in a culture where complexity is mistaken for credibility, scary headlines outperform useful guidance, and nuance — the part that actually makes information actionable — gets lost in the noise.

Take nutrition, for example. Instead of simple guidance about eating in a balanced way, we’re bombarded with conflicting studies about superfoods, dire warnings about everyday ingredients, and miracle solutions that promise to transform your health overnight. The result? Analysis paralysis — and a population that’s over-informed yet under-educated about what actually works.

The same goes for financial advice. Instead of teaching basic concepts like compound interest or emergency funds, we’re overwhelmed with stock predictions and jargon-heavy trends. Health news fixates on rare diseases and breakthrough treatments while ignoring sleep, hydration, and managing stress — things that actually move the needle for most people.

Enter: The Three-Year-Old Filter

What if we applied a “three-year-old filter” to the way we receive, share, and even generate information?

Not to dumb things down — but to force clarity. To strip away what’s performative and highlight what’s practical. This filter has three parts:

1. Simplicity Without Oversimplification

A child can understand that bacteria move from a dirty surface to their mouth. You don’t need to erase the concept of bacteria — you just need to explain the part that matters. The goal isn’t to avoid science; it’s to reveal the core mechanism.

2. Immediate Relevance

Children are wired to ask: “What does this mean for me, right now?”
Abstract possibilities and distant consequences don’t spark action. Information that passes this filter connects to something they can see, feel, or do — immediately.

3. Practical Application

The most important question a child asks is:
“So what do I do?”
Information that can’t be translated into clear, direct action is likely less helpful than it seems. The toilet seat moment ended with: spit, rinse, wash hands.

Why It Works

Using this filter brings us face to face with several uncomfortable truths:

Complexity Often Masks Shaky Understanding

Experts who can’t explain something simply may not understand it fully themselves. Or worse, the science might be too weak to withstand scrutiny. True expertise shows up in the ability to distill, not dazzle.

Fear Doesn’t Build Habits

Scaring a child about germs might get them to comply once, but it won’t create lasting behaviour. The same goes for adults. Fear grabs attention, but understanding leads to action.

Headlines Aren’t Enough

A three-year-old will keep asking “why?” until the layers of a statement are exposed. It’s a childlike instinct we’d do well to adopt. Headlines don’t hold up to that kind of curiosity — and neither do many trendy life hacks.

Practical Applications

Applying this filter doesn’t mean we treat adults like kids. It means we start holding information to the same standard of clarity and usefulness that children instinctively demand.

For Health

Don’t ask, “Is this food good or bad?”
Ask, “What does this mean for what I eat today?”

Skip memorising antioxidants and focus on repeatable, useful patterns:

• Eat the rainbow
• Get your fiber
• Stay hydrated
• Sleep well

 

For Finance

Ignore market timing and hot tips.
Focus on what works:

• Spend less than you earn
• Save for emergencies
• Invest consistently

 

For Any Complex Topic

Start with: What’s the one thing I can do today?
If no clear answer emerges, the information probably needs reworking.

The Antidote to Overwhelm

The three-year-old filter isn’t about simplifying life to the point of absurdity. It’s about making wisdom useful again. It’s about choosing clarity over cleverness, understanding over memorisation, and habits over hype.

In a world obsessed with sounding smart, the radical act might be to communicate so clearly that even a curious child could understand — and benefit. Because if your advice can’t pass the three-year-old test, maybe it’s time to revise it.

The next time you’re hit with flashy advice or viral tips, pause and ask:

• Could I explain this to a child?
• Does it connect to something they can see or feel?
• Does it lead to action they could take right now?

 

If not, maybe it’s time to look for better information.
Or better yet — demand better explanations.

Because often, the most sophisticated truths are the ones you can explain to a three-year-old.

Just ask the kid who now knows to wash his hands after touching something yucky.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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Photo credit: Habib Dadkhah on Unsplash

 

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