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Can You Solve These Surprisingly Tricky Riddles For Kids?

"What's really easy to get into, and hard to get out of?"

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riddles for kids - I'm always on the dinner table, but you don't get to eat me. What am I?rd.com

The Best Riddles For Kids

I’m always on the dinner table, but you don’t get to eat me. What am I?

Answer: Plates and silverware

The best riddles for kids play with their sense of imagination and encourage them to think critically!

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riddles for kids - What's bright orange with green on top and sounds like a parrot?rd.com

Riddle Me This…

What’s bright orange with green on top and sounds like a parrot?

Answer: A carrot

This is one of the trickier riddles for kids because it sends them into the direction of thinking of different types of birds. The article “a,” “a parrot,” is a bit clunky, because if the riddle used “sounds like parrot” or “rhymes with parrot,” kids would probably get the answer right off the bat.

Can you pass this brainteasing colour quiz?

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riddles for kids - There's a one-story house where everything is yellow. The walls are yellow. The doors are yellow. Even all the furniture is yellow. The house has yellow beds and yellow couches. What colour are the stairs?rd.com

Riddle: Mellow yellow

There’s a one-storey house where everything is yellow. The walls are yellow. The doors are yellow. Even all the furniture is yellow. The house has yellow beds and yellow couches. What colour are the stairs?

Answer: There aren’t any stairs—it’s a one-storey house.

Riddles with scenarios try to trip you up by assuming you’ll focus on highlighted details and forget the detail that pulls you toward the answer. These kinds of riddles for kids help them with listening skills and precision.

Give your brain a workout with these printable crossword puzzles.

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riddles for kids - What's really easy to get into, and hard to get out of?rd.com

Riddle: Time out

What’s really easy to get into, and hard to get out of?

Answer: Trouble

When kids learn the answer to this fun riddle, they’ll get a kick out of the play on words.

Test your vocabulary with our Canadian slang quiz.

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riddles for kids - What word contains 26 letters, but only has three syllables?rd.com

Riddle: Easy as ABC

What word contains 26 letters, but only has three syllables?

Answer: Alphabet

The most fun riddles for kids stimulate their imagination and jumpstart a tendency to think wisely. This riddle helps kids practice brainstorming for long vocabulary words until they realize the word they’re actually looking for.

See if you can match these adjectives with their proper definitions.

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riddles for kids - What can you hear, but not see or touch, even though you control it?rd.com

Riddle: Talk the talk

What can you hear, but not see or touch, even though you control it?

Answer: Your voice

Riddles for kids challenge their understanding of language. This riddle encourages kids to think conceptually about the way they experience the world.

You don’t need to be a science whiz to find these physics jokes funny!

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riddles for kids - A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder. She wasn't hurt. Why?rd.com

Riddle: Safety first

A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder. She wasn’t hurt. Why?

Answer: She fell off the bottom step.

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riddles for kids - What has lots of eyes, but can't see?rd.com

Riddle: Take a look

What has lots of eyes, but can’t see?

Answer: A potato

Riddles for kids should be challenging, but the best ones deliver a laugh with their solution!

Can you pass this quiz of 4th grade science questions?

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riddles for kids - I am often following you and copying your every move. Yet you can never touch me or catch me. What am I?rd.com

Riddle: Best pals

I am often following you and copying your every move. Yet you can never touch me or catch me. What am I?

Answer: A shadow

This is a great riddle for kids when they’re playing outside because you can demonstrate the answer if the lighting is right.

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Grandpa went out for a walk and it started to rain. He didn't bring an umbrella or a hat. His clothes got soaked, but not a hair on his head was wet. How is this possible?rd.com

Riddle: Storytime

Grandpa went out for a walk and it started to rain. He didn’t bring an umbrella or a hat. His clothes got soaked, but not a hair on his head was wet. How is this possible?

Answer: Grandpa was bald

Situation or story riddles for kids help them focus on details and develop logic skills. You’ll enjoy watching them problem-solving and helping them out.

Bet you didn’t know these 19 words are spelled the same backwards and forwards!

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What has hands, but can't clap?rd.com

Riddle: Watch out

What has hands, but can’t clap?

Answer: A clock

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I add lots of flavour and have many layers, but if you get to close I'll make you cry. What am I?rd.com

Riddle: Teardrops

I add lots of flavour and have many layers, but if you get to close I’ll make you cry. What am I?

Answer: An onion

Riddles for kids train them to think critically and conceptually. To get the answer, they’ll have to learn to go beyond the obvious, push past their first thoughts, and think in the abstract to find the answer.

Know your way around a kitchen? Test your knowledge of cooking terms.

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What has legs, but doesn't walk?rd.com

Riddle: Take a seat

What has legs, but doesn’t walk?

Answer: A table

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You see me once in June, twice in November, but not at all in May. What am I?rd.com

Riddle: Buy a vowel

You see me once in June, twice in November, but not at all in May. What am I?

Answer: The letter “e”

Test your knowledge of these common crossword puzzle answers.

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What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?rd.com

Riddle: Cross your heart

What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?

Answer: A promise

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I run along your property and all around the backyard, yet I never move. What am I?rd.com

Riddle: Play outside

I run along your property and all around the backyard, yet I never move. What am I?

Answer: A fence

Try your hand at these printable word search puzzles.

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I have to be opened, but I don't have a lid or a key to get in. What am I?rd.com

Riddle: Sunnyside up

I have to be opened, but I don’t have a lid or a key to get in. What am I?

Answer: An egg

Some riddles are frustrating. They’re designed to trip you up and make you twist your thinking style into new positions. Guide your kids through the challenge. It’s not always about getting it right, but understanding why the answer makes sense.

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Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?rd.com

Riddle: Weight for it

Which is heavier: a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?

Answer: Neither, they both weigh the same.

Everyone loves this classic brain-twister. The answer relies on the details. Kids need to avoid the distraction of heavy bricks and light feathers and focus on the actual unit of weight in the clue.

It doesn’t have to be Pi Day (March 14) to share these silly math jokes!

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Tom's father has three sons: Jim, John, and what's the third one's name?rd.com

Riddle: Hey bro!

Tom’s father has three sons: Jim, John, and what’s the third one’s name?

Answer: Tom

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"What can you catch, but not throw?"rd.com

Riddle: Bless you!

What can you catch, but not throw?

Answer: A cold

The answer to this riddle relies on an idiom, a turn of phrase, with which they may not be familiar. It’s another riddle that encourages kids to think beyond objects to find the answer in the abstract.

Check out the best family-friendly jokes from Reader’s Digest.

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Riddles for kids - "What kind of cup doesn't hold water?"rd.com

Riddle: Sweet treat

What kind of cup doesn’t hold water?

Answer: Cupcake (or hiccup!)

This is another one of those riddles for kids that can also prove super challenging for grown-ups. Though you may be clued into the fact that you’re looking for something beyond a teacup, the two potential answers are tricky to find.

Psst—here’s how to get rid of hiccups!

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Riddles for kids - "I am always in front of you and never behind you. What am I?"rd.com

Riddle: Just up ahead

I am always in front of you and never behind you. What am I?

Answer: Your future

Kids will probably need some help coming up with this conceptual answer. Encourage them to think creatively and in the abstract. Help kids avoid frustration and stay positive during the challenge of a hard riddle.

Can you guess the dog breed based on its puppy picture?

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Riddles for kids - "What kind of band never plays music?"rd.com

Riddle: Rock on

What kind of band never plays music?

Answer: A rubber band

Check out more dad jokes that are so bad, they’re good.

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Riddles for kids - "Which month of the year has 28 days?"rd.com

Riddle: Trick time

Which month of the year has 28 days?

Answer: All of them

Here are 50 of the best knock knock jokes for kids.

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riddles for kids - "I have many teeth, but I cannot bite. What am I?"rd.com

Riddle: Brush up

I have many teeth, but I cannot bite. What am I?

Answer: A comb

If you enjoyed these riddles for kids, see if you can pass this quiz of fourth grade spelling words.

Reader's Digest
Originally Published on Reader's Digest