60 funny brain teasers for kids

Parents always want their kids to learn new useful skills, while children are keen on playing and having fun. Is there a middle ground? Sure! Let us introduce you to brain teasers.

Brain teasers are an entertaining form of learning based on a game. It inspires children to think outside the box. It will actually be interesting for people of all ages as some of the brain teasers are pretty challenging, yet exciting, even for an adult.

Why are brain teasers always a good idea?

Here are some benefits:

• Boost critical thinking. While looking for a solution, a child uses his/her analytical skills and creativity, which are crucial soft skills.
• Teach problem-solving skills. This kind of skill is highly important for children while learning at school, for instance, and in their further education.
• Enrich vocabulary. Linguistic riddles are a great way for a child to learn new words and senses. While solving them, a kid gets in how words can be used in different contexts.
• Introduce children to intellectual humor. Learning something while having fun and laughing is the best way to memorize new information and develop cognitive skills. Brain teasers are often pretty amusing, so there is no place for boredom or anxiety when solving them.
• Create bonds. Brain teasers not only help you to establish a better connection with your child but also give kids valuable tools for communication with peers — sometimes only one riddle is enough to start a new friendship.
• Make kids share their knowledge. Developing the previous statement, it is important to say that such socialization is beneficial for both sides as it reinforces the skills that your child has learned through brain teasers, and at the same time it presents other kids some new and interesting information.
• Instill a love for learning. Usually, children do not understand that solving brain teasers is not just a game but a form of learning. It makes this process more pleasant and enjoyable. A long-term result of this is the love of reading and generating creative ideas.

So, we are glad to share some riddles with you. Check the lists below and choose brain teasers that appeal to you the most.

 

Easy brain teasers

These riddles will be convenient for younger children or as a warm-up for elder kids. They are based on the definitions and things that are already familiar to the child.

 

1. What is not alive but still has a thumb and four fingers?

 

2. What can only go up but not down?

 

3. It can be light or dark, round or oval, cut in pieces or slices. What is it?

 

4. What do we call an invention that lets us see through walls?

 

5. There are two men in a barn. Ten cats walk in. How many feet are in the barn now?

 

6. How can a thrown ball come back to you without bouncing off anything?

 

7. You overtake the second person in the marathon — what place are you now?

 

8. What is always answered though it never asks questions?

 

9. What can be wicked, white, big, or dirty?

 

10. Which of your possessions do other people use more often than you?

 

11. How many oranges can you put in an empty bag?

 

12. What has four legs but can’t walk?

 

13. Five men can dig five holes for one hour. How many hours does one man need to dig half a hole?

 

14. It can be any color. It gets bigger when it is full, and it flies away if you do not tie it down. It breaks with a loud noise. What is it?

 

15. What does one wall say to another?

 

Hard brain teasers for kids

Hard brain teasers will be interesting for schoolchildren and even their parents, as they are quite challenging and require deeper analytical thinking.

 

1. In a one-story green house, there was a green girl, a green dog, a green bird, a green TV, a green pillow, a green bed, a green guitar, a green lamp. What color were the stairs?

 

2. What is always around the wood but can never go into it?

 

3. A man is sitting in a house at night without any light. He has no lamp or candle, etc. However, he is reading. How is it possible?

 

4. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What is it about?

 

5. There is a line drawn on a piece of paper. You can not touch it, but you have to make it longer. How would you act?

 

6. It has keys without doors, space without rooms, you can enter, but you can not leave. What is it?

 

7. An electric train is going west at 200 km an hour, and there is a strong northern wind. Which way does the smoke from the train drift?

 

8. What was the highest mountain in the world before Everest was discovered?

 

9. No one calls them, but they come out at night; no one steals them, but they are lost in the day. What are they?

 

10. What does give milk and has a horn but is not a cow?

 

11. What breaks as soon as you name it?

 

12. What can’t the world’s strongest man hold for more than a minute?

 

13. Why didn’t the police officer stop a truck driver who was going opposite traffic on a one-way street?

 

14. It runs but never walks, has a mouth but does not say a word?

 

15. What can be seen once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a hundred years?

 

 

Tricky brain teasers

This type of brain teasers is perfect for those who are not afraid of challenges! Most of the answers are not trivial at all, and in order to find it, you have to use your creative thinking.

 

1. You are in a very dark room and have one match with you. There is a pile of paper and a candle. What do you light first?

 

2. A farmer has 12 sheep, and all but 5 die. How many are left?

 

3. How far can a rabbit run into the woods?

 

4. Jimmy’s mother has three children. She named the first Monday and the second — Tuesday. What is the name of the third child?

 

5. Which is heavier: a kilo of cotton or a kilo of iron?

 

6. A family lives in a big tower apartment building with 12 floors. Every day their daughter takes the elevator from their apartment on the 12th floor to the ground floor and goes to school. When she returns, she uses the elevator to get to the 6th floor and then uses the stairs for the remaining six floors. Why?

 

7. A plane crashes on the border of France and Italy. Where do they bury the survivors?

 

8. I can predict the score of a football match before the beginning though I do not have any superpowers. How can I do this?

 

9. You are a bus driver. At the first stop, three women get on. At the second stop, five men get on, and two women get off. At the third stop, two kids and their mom get on, and four men get off. The bus is yellow, and it is snowing outside. What color are the bus driver’s eyes?

 

10. A girl walking down the road with a teacher. While the girl is the teacher’s daughter, the teacher is not the girl’s father. Then who is the teacher?

 

11. Matthew McConaughey has a long one, Megan Fox has a short one. Sia does not use hers. Barack Obama always uses his. The Pope never uses his. What is it?

 

12. Your parents have five sons, including you, and each son has one sister. How many people are in the family?

 

13. How many months include 28 days?

 

14. Two fathers and two sons went out to eat. Everyone ate one salad, yet only three salads were eaten in all. How is this possible?

 

15. What do the numbers 11, 69, and 88 have in common?

 

Fun brain teasers

As we mentioned before, brain teasers are a great way to introduce your child to intellectual humor. There are some examples of amusing riddles.

 

1. Why can’t ghosts lie?

 

2. You buy it to eat but never actually eat it. What is it?

 

3. Imagine you’re in a room that is getting filled with sand. There are no windows or other exits. How do you get out?

 

4. If you throw a pink stone into the Black Sea, what will it become?

 

5. What two things are you not able to eat for dinner?

 

6. Why did Mickey Mouse go to Outer Space?

 

7. How can you call a situation when a parachute doesn’t open?

 

8. You can serve it but cannot eat it. What is it?

 

9. You can catch it but cannot throw it. What is it?

 

10. What goes up and down but never moves?

 

11. It has wings and a tail, yet it has no eyes, ears, or mouth. It can randomly flow in the sky from south to north. What is it?

 

12. Mr. Green lives in the green house, Mr. Red lives in the red house, and Mr. Brown lives in the brown house. Who lives in the white house?

 

13. Be careful while crossing the road. Can you spell that without any Rs?

 

14. There are cities, but there are no houses; there are forests, but there are no trees; there is water, but there are no fish. What is it?

 

15. Two boxers are in a match that includes 12 rounds. One of the boxers gets knocked out after only five rounds, yet no man throws a punch. How is this possible?

 

All in all, you can find many more brain teasers or even make up your own. The main thing is to show your kid that such development is fun and exciting so that this enjoyment converts into a huge love to learn in the future.