The case for all-age everything: lessons from PBS Kids

I'm shopping for my 4-year-old and keep thinking "I wish they made that in Dad size." Kids get the coolest stuff. Better fashion, cooler TV shows, more playful everything. Why do we assume adults want boring?

Maybe we become boring, but that may be because of our surroundings.

Take "City Island" on PBS.

Three-minute episodes, fast-paced, packed with Easter eggs that work for preschoolers, tweens, and parents alike. Each episode tackles real themes - civics, advertising, decision-making, screen time, fame - but wraps them in colors and chaos that feel like Rick & Morty for the playground set. My son and I love it.

It follows Watt and Windy - a lightbulb and a kite, and their adventures around their city.

Characters include Watt’s Dad (Frank Lloyd-Light) and movie director David Lunch, director of Blue Carpet…

The theme tune? Composed by Tunde from TV on the Radio. Yes, indeed.

Here's what they cracked: educational content doesn't need to be earnest to be effective. Most corporate learning is PowerPoint purgatory. Most brand storytelling talks at people, not with them.

But the best edutainment makes complex ideas feel like play.

I genuinely can't tell what age City Island is for. And that's exactly the point.

We need more all-age stuff. A few brands nail this - Pixar, Nintendo, the good ice cream shops that don't talk down to anyone.

What if we stopped treating curiosity and fun like they had expiration dates?

What if your next presentation borrowed from kids' TV - colorful, fast-paced, packed with rewards for attention?

The best learning doesn't feel like learning at all.

Because childish is not the same as childlike.

Now, where's the Dad size of that stripey sweater I wanted…?

P.S. I'm writing this to myself as much as I am to you. Be more colorful. More playful. Be more… City Island.