There’s nothing more joyful than finding the laughter in life, especially when you get to share it with many people. That feeling when you’re cracking up so hard, your stomach hurts and the giggles seem absolutely uncontrollable? There’s simply nothing like it. And nothing quite gets us giggling like a brainteaser, amusing joke or clever riddle, especially ones that are appropriate enough to share with the little ones. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of our favorite riddles for kids that’ll get the laughter flowing and leave everyone chuckling.
And getting loads of laughs isn’t just one benefit of solving riddles with your kids. Riddles, known as a statement or question that has multiple meanings and needs to be solved, have been credited with helping kids work on their logic and critical thinking skills, practice their vocabulary, stretch their problem-solving muscles and sometimes even give them a good laugh or an a-ha moment when they’ve reached the solution.
Our list, which has a good mix of easy-to-answer options as well as head-scratchers that even adults might struggle to figure out, not only can keep the young ones occupied on their own when you’re stuck in line somewhere or need a quick fix to keep the kid’s busy, but they also provide the opportunity for collaboration and quality time if you decide to take the list together.
Tricky Riddles for Kids
Q: Grandpa went for a walk, and it started raining. He forgot to bring an umbrella and didn’t have a hat. When he got home, his clothes were soaking wet, but not a hair on his head was wet. How was this possible?
A: Grandpa is bald.
Q: I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have nobody, but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
A: An echo.
Q: What is full of holes but still holds water?
A: A sponge.
Q: What can you catch but not throw?
A: A cold.
Q: What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, and has a bed but never sleeps?
A: A river.
Q: In a one-story house at the corner of the road, the bedrooms were yellow, the kitchen was orange, the living room was red, the garage was blue, the entry hall was green, and the sitting room was purple. What color were the stairs?
A: There’s no color because there are no stairs — it’s a one-story house.
Q: What starts with a ‘P’, ends with an ‘E’, and has thousands of letters?
A: A post office
Q: Give me a drink, and I will die. Feed me, and I’ll get bigger. What am I?
A: A fire.
Q: What word begins with E and ends with E, but only has one letter?
A: Envelope.
Q: What appears once in a minute, twice in a moment, but not once in a thousand years?
A: The letter “M.”
Q: What has many rings but no fingers?
A: A telephone.
Q: What goes up but never comes back down?
A: Your age.
Q: I go all around the world, but never leave the corner. What am I?
A: A stamp.
Q: If you drop a yellow hat in the Red Sea, what does it become?
A: Wet.
Q: I’m always on the dinner table, but you don’t get to eat me. What am I?
A: Plates and silverware.
Q: What goes in a birdbath but never gets wet?
A: The bird’s shadow.
Q: What two things can you never eat for breakfast?
A: Lunch and dinner.
Q: If you drop me, I’m sure to crack, but smile at me and I’ll smile back. What am I?
A: A mirror.
Q: What has hands and a face, but no arms or legs?
A: A clock.
Q: You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?
A: The letter “R.”
Q: I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
A: Your breath.
Q: I have cities, but no houses. I have forests, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I?
A: A map.
Q: What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
A: A promise.
Q: What is yours but mostly used by others?
A: Your name.
Q: Which question can you never answer “yes” to?
A: “Are you asleep?”
Q: What’s something that, the more you take, the more you leave behind?
A: Footsteps.
Animal Riddles for Kids
Q: I have no sword, I have no spear, yet rule a horde which many fear, my soldiers fight with a wicked sting, I rule with might, yet am no king. What am I?
A: A queen bee.
Q: I have arms that are longer than my legs. I have been taught sign language to communicate. Who am I?
A: A gorilla.
Q: I like to stay awake at night and sleep during the day. What am I?
A: An owl.
Q: My skin is green and slipper, I have four legs and webbed feet, I hop on land and swim underwater, I love bugs and little fish to eat. What am I?
A: A frog.
Q: The alphabet goes from A to Z, but I go Z to A. What am I?
A: A zebra.
Q: A rooster is sitting on the roof of a barn facing west. If it laid an egg, would the egg roll to the north or to the south?
A: It’s impossible — roosters don’t lay eggs.
Q: A cowgirl road into town on Friday. Three days later, she left on Friday. How is that possible?
A: Friday is the name of her horse.
Q: What kind of lion never roars?
A: A dandelion.
Q: What has a thousand needles but cannot sew?
A: A porcupine.
Q: Without me Thanksgiving and Christmas are incomplete, when I’m on the table everyone tends to overeat. What am I?
A: Turkey.
Q: What’s bright orange with green on top and sounds like a parrot?
A: A carrot.
Q: Why do bees have sticky hair?
A: Because they use their honeycombs.
Q: What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A: A gummy bear.
Q: What’s black, white and blue?
A: A sad zebra.
Q: I jump when I walk and sit when I stand. What am I?
A: Kangaroo.
Q: I grow down as I grow up. What am I?
A: A goose. Goose feathers are called down.
Q: I’m the father of fruits. What am I?
A: A papa-ya.
Funny Riddles for Little Kids
Q: Why are teddy bears never hungry?
A: Because they are always stuffed.
Q: Cats have four, bugs have four, but school has six. What are they?
A: Letters.
Q: Sam’s parents have three kids. Their names are Huey, Dewey, and _____?
A: Sam!
Q: Nobody empties me, but I never stay full for long. What am I?
A: The moon.
Q: What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire?
A: Frostbite.
Q: What’s really easy to get into, and hard to get out of?
A: Trouble.
Q: What animal can jump higher than a building?
A: Any animal that can jump — buildings don’t jump, silly!
Q: Where would you take a sick boat?
A: To the dock.
Q: What did the zero say to the eight?
A: “Nice belt!”
Q: What gets wet while drying?
A: A towel.
Q: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
A: A candle.
Q: What room do ghosts avoid?
A: The living room.
Q: I can be cracked or played; told or made. What am I?
A: A joke!
Q: What has a head and a tail but no body?
A: A coin.
Q: I sometimes run, but I cannot walk. What am I?
A: Your nose.
Q: What has four fingers and a thumb but isn’t alive?
A: A glove
Food Riddles for Kids
Q: What has no beginning, end or middle?
A: A doughnut.
Q: Although I may have eyes, I cannot see. I have a round brown face with lots of acne. What am I?
A: A potato.
Q: What kind of dog has no tail?
A: A hot dog.
Q: I am a bird, I am a fruit and I am a person. What am I?
A: Kiwi.
Q: What fruit never ever wants to be alone?
A: A pear.
Q: I can be bitter or sweet, but I’m always a treat; in a bar or a cake, I’m something to eat. What am I?
A: Chocolate.
Q: I can be yellow or blue, soft or hard; on a burger or mac, I’m often starred. What am I?
A: Cheese.
Q: First, you throw away my outside and cook the inside. Then you eat my outside and throw away the inside. What am I?
A: Corn.
Q: What kind of cheese is made backwards?
A: Edam. Made is M-A-D-E, Edam is E-D-A-M, or “made” backwards.
Q: What has a head but no eyes, nose or mouth?
A: Lettuce.
Q: I’m red and small, and I have a heart of stone. What am I?
A: A cherry.
Q: When I’m ripe, I’m green, when you eat me, I’m red, and when you spit me out, I’m black. What am I?
A: A watermelon.
Q: What fruit can you never cheer up?
A: A blueberry.
Q: What has to be broken before you can use it?
A: An egg
Q: What kind of foods are the most fun at parties?
A: Fungi.
Q: What is the richest nut?
A: A cash-ew.
Q: Why did the citrus tree go to the hospital?
A: Lemon-aid.
Q: You cut me, slice me, dice me, and all the while, you cry. What am I?
A: An onion.
Q: What kind of room has no doors or windows?
A: A mushroom.
Q: What kind of apples do computers prefer?
A: Macintosh.
Q: What kind of cup doesn’t hold water?
A: A cupcake.
Math Riddles for Kids
Q: If there are seven oranges and you take three away, how many oranges do you have?
A: Three, since that’s how many you took.
Q: How many seconds are in a year?
A: Twelve — January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd…
Q: How many letters are there in the alphabet?
A: There are 11: three in “the” and eight in “alphabet.”
Q: Ms. Smith has four daughters. Each daughter has a brother. How many kids are there in total?
A: Five, there are four daughters and one son. Each daughter has the same brother.
Q: When things go wrong, what can you always count on?
A: Your fingers.
Q: What did the triangle say to the circle?
A: You are pointless.
Q: You have a basket that’s one foot in diameter and one foot deep. How many apples can you fit in the empty basket?
A: Only one, because then it’s not empty anymore.
Q: If two’s a company, and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
A: Nine!
Q: Why was 6 afraid of 7?
A: Because 7, 8 (ate), 9!
Q: Four legs up, four legs down, soft in the middle, hard all around. What am I?
A: A bed.
Q: A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remains, what is it?
A: Dozens.
Q: What month of the year has 28 days?
A: All of them!
Q: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?
A: Footsteps.