60 of the Best Riddles for Kids: Can You Solve Them?
Updated: May 24, 2023Put on your thinking cap for these riddles for kids! Find all the answers from the easiest riddles for kids to the hardest riddles for kids and everything in between.
Riddle me this
Grown-ups aren’t the only ones who enjoy a good thought-provoking question. Riddles are just brain-teasers that use language. They help us exercise our brains in a different way than we normally do day-to-day. They are especially good for kids because riddles will ultimately help them with critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It may even help them learn new vocabulary and teach them to read in a new way. These riddles for kids can be great for all ages—even kindergarteners! We have everything from easy riddles for kids all the way to hard riddles for kids. If you like these, there are plenty more where these came from. Try out some visual puzzles, animal riddles, and even get the big people thinking with the best riddles for adults.
Easy Riddles: Now you see me
You can touch me, but I can’t touch you back. You can see me, but I only reflect you and can never reject you. What am I?
Answer: A mirror
This is a riddle that encourages children to think outside the box and consider the clues from new and different angles. To give them a hint, encourage them to think about the word “reflect” and what it means.
Check out these Christmas riddles that’ll give your brain a workout (while spreading holiday cheer).
Riddle: Cold calling
I can travel at nearly 100 miles per hour, but never leave the room. You can cover me up, but that doesn’t slow me down. You will not know if I come only once or again and again and again. What am I?
Answer: A sneeze
“Bless you!”
Can you solve this viral riddle about Teresa’s daughter? It’s not as easy as you think!
Riddle: Changing tide
People have stepped on me, but not many. I never stay full for long. I have a dark side. What am I?
Answer: The moon
This riddle offers an opportunity for your kids to learn more about the moon. Here are some free printable brain teasers that’ll really bust your brain.
Riddle: Food for thought
I am always running, but never get tired or hot. What am I?
Answer: The refrigerator
If your kids learn the double meaning of running, they’re set when it comes to jokes and gags. Introduce them to the limerick for more comedy gold. Speaking of comedy gold—check out these short jokes for kids that are easy to remember.
Riddle: Rock on
I have a head much smaller than my long neck. People who play with me pick at me and that’s fine. What am I?
Answer: A guitar
It doesn’t actually matter if your child figures out the answer or not. The fun and learning come from playing with the riddle and discussing the different nuances. Even a wrong answer is a learning tool.
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Riddle: Picture perfect
I look like you, but I am not you. You can blow me up or find me in a wallet. Share me or frame me, both are nice. What am I?
Answer: A photograph of you
Explain the concept of “blowing up” and how it relates to pictures and images–that might be difficult for smaller children to get in the age of digital pictures. Check out these Thanksgiving riddles the whole family will love.
Riddle: Field day
I sound like I could cut you, but I’m actually quite comfortable. I can be green or yellow. I can be stiff or soft. I am a friend to bugs and also bare feet. What am I?
Answer: A blade of grass
This is the kind of riddle that makes everyone want to get up and go outside. Hope you’ve got a bright sunny day. See how many of these Easter riddles you can solve—they’ll have you hunting for answers.
Riddle: Feel for it
I can be red or blue—I am always changing. I can ruin your day or lift you up. I am always with you except when you sleep. What am I?
Answer: Your mood
Have open conversations with your kids about being both angry and sad, as well as happy. They’re kids, but they still have a lot of emotions to deal with. Keep these funny tongue twisters for kids handy in case you feel the need to lighten up the conversation.
Riddle: Drink up
I have a stem, but I am not a flower. I have a foot, but I cannot hop. Children are too young to hold me. What am I?
Answer: A wine glass
Here’s a chance to learn about the different parts of a wine glass—and it’s fine for kids to learn too even if you’ve told them it’s a fancy juice cup.
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Riddle: Solar system
I have seven rings made of rock and ice, but you cannot wear them on your fingers. They are way, way too big. What am I?
Answer: Saturn
This riddle gives you a great opportunity to talk about science and astronomy with your child. Let them know about Saturn’s seven rings that are not like the first rings that may come into their minds. Wordplay lets them stretch their critical thinking skills.
Riddle: Grin and bear it
I can be open or closed, or big or small. I can reveal the truth or hide it. I am almost always welcome and can spring up unannounced. Everyone has one, but not everyone shares. Laughter comes after me. What am I?
Answer: A smile
Hopefully, this riddle brings an easy smile to your children’s faces. Riddles are fun to contemplate with a group of kids who can help each other think through it.
Riddle: Close-knit
I am round as a sphere but then become something else. I am also one hundred yards long, or even longer. What am I?
Answer: A ball of yarn
Riddle: Add flavor
We come in a set. We can dash or pour. If we’re too much, the serving is ruined. If we’re held back, the course is flat. What are we?
Answer: Salt and pepper
Encourage kids to think about the puns and double meanings in the clue. Serving and course could be mistaken for outside activities like tennis or golf. This riddle helps children learn the different nuances of words like dash, which here means a small amount and not just a quick jaunt.
Riddle: Lifeforce
I am light and seem to have no substance at all. But even the strongest person in the world can’t hold me for very long. What am I?
Answer: Breath
Take a deep breath and give any riddle some deep thought. The answer may just flow in. Did you know meditation boosts brainpower?
Riddle: Go with the flow
I don’t have money, though I do have banks. I feed others, though I don’t eat. Cross me if you can, I won’t be mad. What am I?
Answer: The mouth of a river
Riddle: Build it
You can play me with cards, but don’t burn me. Rest glasses on me or walk across me. What am I?
Answer: A bridge
Have you ever propped your legs up on an ottoman to play bridge with youngsters? Or propped glasses on the bridge of your nose. This brainteaser asks kids to move past their first thought.
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Riddle: Just right
Have you ever heard the story of Goldilocks? When your shoes are off what trait do you share with the animals the girl in the story bothers?
Answer: Bare feet
This riddle is a great one to give to toe-wigglers after a bedtime story.
Riddle: Sweet dreams
How should you satisfy your sweet tooth when it’s way after bedtime?
Answer: Eat choco-late
Riddles offer teachable moments that are always fun. It’s another riddle that teaches spelling and shows children the way the word “late” is in chocolate even though it’s pronounced differently. Time for a midnight snack! Next up, see if you can pass this seemingly easy fourth grade spelling quiz.
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.
Riddle: Pumpkin patch
My name seems harsh, but I am still and silent. You are supposed to eat me, but some display me. My name is not easy to do to me because I am hard on the outside. What am I?
Answer: A squash
The word squash has so many different meanings!
Riddle: Squeeze me
I am made to absorb, and I can hold liquid even though I’m full of holes. What am I?
Answer: A sponge
Was that too easy? That’s just fine! There’s plenty more where this came from.
Riddle: Take a seat
What has legs, but doesn’t walk?
Answer: A table
This riddle helps kids learn to think figuratively. The answer is an object that does have legs, just not the kind that first springs to mind. Encourage kids to think of what household items have legs as they try to figure out this riddle.
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.
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Hard Riddles: Wise one
It’s good to stretch me and push my limits. The more you use me, the stronger I get. When I am sharp, I at my best. What am I?
Answer: Your brain
Good one!
Riddle: State of mind
Mississippi has four S letters and four I letters. Can you spell that without using S or I?
Answer: T H A T (spell that)
Now, try to solve this “how many letters are in the alphabet” riddle—it’s not as simple as you think.
Riddle: Letter box
What letter of the alphabet appears at the start of questions?
Answer: The letter Y (why)
If your child gets stumped go through the alphabet and figure out which letters sound like other words such as T and “tea” or C and “sea” or “see.” These homonyms, words that sound the same, but have different meanings, encourage your children to stretch their thinking beyond the obvious. U C? (You see?) Have fun!
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Riddle: Second-guessing
One year has 365 days. How many seconds are in a year?
Answer: 12 (the second day of each month)
Very tricky!
Riddle: Built for speed
If it takes 20 workers to 20 hours to build a garage from start to finish. How long will it take ten workers to complete the same project?
Answer: No time. The job is complete.
Hopefully, this answer gets a laugh.
Riddle: Parental guidance
A doctor drops off a young boy at school every morning before work. The doctor is not the child’s father, but the child is the doctor’s son. Explain.
Answer: The doctor is the boy’s mom
This is a great riddle for helping children understand their assumptions about gender. It’s a problem if they assume that a neutral noun like doctor automatically suggests a man.
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Riddle: Runs in the family
Four siblings stood underneath an umbrella. Two were holding dogs and two were holding cats. How did they all keep from getting wet?
Answer: It wasn’t raining
Sometimes it’s all too easy to follow a detail like “standing under an umbrella” and make assumptions about rain. This riddle encourages children to think through all the information they’re given. Help them to learn the ways they assume things, so they can think more critically.
Riddle: Daydream believer
Imagine the following: You are alone in a forest and you hear a noise. You realize you are being followed. You begin to run as fast as you can, but whatever is following is getting closer and closer. How do you escape?
Answer: Stop imagining that scenario and imagine something else
This riddle can be adapted for any type of situation. It’s a great one for teaching kids the power of positive thinking. They also learn ways to manage anxiety by taking control of their own thoughts.
Riddle: Time travel
What comes once in a second, twice in a decade, but just a single time in a century?
Answer: The letter E
This riddle is a great one for the little bookworms in your life who love to play with words. This brain-twister asks kids to look at the components of the words and the sentence, not just think about its meaning.
Riddle: Double digits
What do the numbers 11 and 88 have in common?
Answer: They both look the same upside-down and backward.
Get ready for kids to do some flip-flop thinking on this one. The answer doesn’t require math skills, but rather a consideration of the way the numbers look. You might want to have them write the digits out and turn the paper in different directions to make sense of this riddle.
Riddle: Dinner time
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.
Riddle: Birdcall
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.
Riddle: Mellow yellow
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 color are the stairs?
Answer: There aren’t any stairs—it’s a one-story 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.
Riddle: Easy as ABC
What word contains 26 letters, but only has three syllables?
Answer: Alphabet
Riddles are famous for being tricky. 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.
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.
Riddle: Safety first
A girl fell off a 20-foot ladder. She wasn’t hurt. Why?
Answer: She fell off the bottom step.
Hopefully, riddles for kids that feature scary scenarios aren’t stressful, but rather help them learn how to problem-solve. Sure, that ladder’s really tall, but under what circumstances could a fall remain safe? Help your child talk through the options until they hit on the answer.
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Riddle: Take a look
What has lots of eyes, but can’t see?
Answer: A potato
Riddles for kids should be challenging, but they also need to be gettable. Ideally, kids get a chuckle or an “aha moment” when they finally figure the answers out. This riddle’s answer relies on getting kids to think in a new way about eyes and they might even learn a new fact or two about sprouts.
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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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.
Riddle: Unwrap it
You are always living in me. No matter how much time goes by I am still right there with you. What am I?
Answer: The present moment
Time goes by, fast or slow, but the present is right there. This riddle can teach kids about living in the now through thinking of a different definition of present beyond the kind they’re used to—wrapped up gifts!
Riddle: Watch out
What has hands, but can’t clap?
Answer: A clock
This riddle is great for kids to learn that words can have several different meanings. They’ll enjoy learning the alternate definitions for hands and get practice expanding their vocabulary.
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Riddle: Teardrops
I add lots of flavor and have many layers, but if you get too 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.
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”
In this riddle, kids may benefit from a clue. To help them out, ask them what letter follows those rules?
Riddle: Cross your heart
What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
Answer: A promise
Encourage kids to think conceptually as they consider this riddle. They’ll need to think about the kinds of things that can get broken. Help them look beyond objects to concepts. Riddles often rely on conceptual and critical thinking to find the answer.
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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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.
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.
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.
Riddle: Rock on
What kind of band never plays music?
Answer: A rubber band
This one seems obvious, but it can still be tricky. Encourage kids to think past their immediate association with the word “band.” After they think of marching bands and rock bands, ask them what other kinds of bands come to mind.
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Riddle: Trick time
Which month of the year has 28 days?
Answer: All of them
This riddle is very tricky because it seems to ask for just one month. However, even though one month is known for this number of days, any month would be correct. This riddle helps kids pay attention to details and expand their thinking.
Riddle: Brush up
I have many teeth, but I cannot bite. What am I?
Answer: A comb
Kids might not know the terms for individual pieces of everyday objects. Riddles can help them learn those terms, as well as life skills that help them think differently. Now that you’ve gone through all of these riddles for kids, try these short riddles that are easy to remember so you can pull one out on the fly.
