Riddles for kids
Riddle: Nighty-night
What question can you never answer yes to? This has to be the silliest question ever, because it only has one possible answer (or has the effect of waking up the other person). You and your teen can laugh about this one: Chances are, when they were little they woke you up more than once with this question while you were dozing on the couch.
Answer: Are you asleep?
Riddle: Odds or evens
I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I? This riddle blends math with wordplay once again: Your teen will think they’re looking for an actual number with those properties—ie, an even number—but they’re actually looking for a number that when a letter is taken away will spell the word “even.” Tricky!
Answer: Seven.
Riddle: Spelling bee
What word is always spelled wrong? Riddles love to play with misdirection. Here, your teen will be trying to figure out how and why a word could possibly be spelled wrong all the time—but the trick is, the word itself is “wrong.” You can also discuss whether the word
“wrong” should be put in quotation marks for clarity, as it is in this sentence.
Answer: Wrong.
Riddle: Train trouble
There is an electric train which is headed towards the east. So, where does the smoke go? Trick question! Teens will have to listen carefully to get the right answer to this one. Instead of thinking about whether smoke would go in the opposite direction of where the train is headed—not to mention how the way the wind is blowing would affect the smoke—they just have to pay close attention to the first few words of the question.
Answer: There is none:
Riddle: Balled over
I am a ball that rolls but can’t bounce or be thrown. This one may get you an “eww, gross!” from your teen, but they’ll secretly love it. And if they don’t understand how an eyeball can be rolled (they could be picturing one being bowled— talk about gross), remind them how they love to “roll their eyes” at you.
Answer: An eyeball.
Riddle: More anatomy lessons
I am the only organ that named myself. What am I? This is a totally meta question your teen will appreciate: What organ came up with the names of all the organs, and everything in the world for that matter? The human brain, of course. Mind blown!
Answer: The brain.
Riddle: Sly as a fox
How far can a fox run into the woods? Your teen might think you need particular measurements for this one, but there’s a universal answer they might not immediately see. Tell them that if the answer to a riddle seems too impossible, it probably means there’s a simpler solution.
Answer: Halfway; otherwise he’d be running out of the woods.
Riddle: Math problem
Which word is least like the others? Third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth? This riddle seems to be a math problem: Maybe your teen will be focused on odd or even numbers or even number patterns that are more complicated. But this is another case of misdirection because it’s actually an English problem: All the others end in “th,” whereas “third” begins with “th.”
Answer: Third.
Riddle: Birth order
Tom is younger than Dave but older than Jill. Lou is older than Sally who is older than Tom. Dave is older than Lou. Who is the middle child? This one might require a pen and paper (or the Notes app on your teen’s cell phone). The trick is to skip the second clue, because there’s not enough info to know whether to place Lou and Sally above or below Dave until you read the third clue.
Answer: Sally.