Riddles aren’t just for cave-dwelling Gollums and Batman villains. Riddles are for anyone — kids included — who want to kick their brain out of routine thinking habits. The best riddles for kids, like the best jokes for kids, are challenging, fun word puzzles that push them to examine their assumptions while giggling at language itself. Not every riddle is easy. The best riddles for kids should offer a playful way to wrestle with truly challenging questions. Most kids have a natural aptitude for the type of thinking they require. More so, they’re genuinely intrigued by puzzles. They’ll surprise you with how well they tackle a thinker. They just have to be the right riddles and answers — not too complex, not too easy. So, if you want to engage a kid’s natural problem-solving skills, here are 37 riddles and answers for kids — ranging from hard riddles to medium riddles to easy riddles — that children can solve, and have fun while doing so.
Twelve in Six Letters
Riddle: A word I know, six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remains, what is it?
Solution: Dozens.
Full of Holes, But Still Holds Water
Riddle: What is full of holes but still holds water?
Solution: A sponge.
The English Alphabet
Riddle: How many letters are there in the English alphabet?
Solution: 18: 3 in ‘the’, 7 in ‘English,’ and 8 in ‘alphabet.’
At the Start a Lummox
Riddle: Turn us on our backs and open up our stomachs, and you will be the wisest but at the start a lummox. What are we?
Solution: Books.
A Wet One
Riddle: What becomes wetter the more it dries?
Answer: A towel.
Impossible to Say ‘Yes’ To
Riddle: What answer can you never answer yes to?
Solution: Are you asleep yet?
You Can Count on Us
Riddle: When things go wrong, what can you always count on?
Solution: Your fingers.
Looking Ahead
Riddle: What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
solution: The future.
A Zebra By Any Another Name
Riddle: What’s black and white and blue?
Solution: A sad zebra.
All Streets, No People
Riddle: Where can you find cities, towns, shops, and streets but no people?
Solution: A map.
Neck and…Neck?
Riddle: What has a neck but no head?
Solution: A bottle.
How Did They Miss This One?
Riddle: What word is spelled wrong in the dictionary?
Answer: Wrong.
Fox in the Woods
Riddle: How far can a fox run into the woods?
Solution: Only halfway, otherwise it would be running out of the woods!
Freak Occurrences
Riddle: What happens once in a lifetime, twice in a moment, but never in one hundred years?
Answer: The letter “M”
A Colorful Situation
Riddle: Mr. Blue lives in the Blue house. Mrs. Yellow lives in the Yellow House. Mr. Orange lives in the orange house. Who lives in the White House?
Answer: The President
Odd Number
Riddle: I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?
Solution: Seven.
These Hands Can’t Clap
Riddle: What has hands but doesn’t clap?
Solution: A clock.
Break Before Using
Riddle: What has to be broken before you can use it?
Solution: An egg.
Numbers
Riddle: If two’s company, and three’s a crowd, what are four and five?
Solution: Nine!
Only Going Up
Riddle: What goes up but never comes back down?
Solution: Your age!
The Shorter Word
Riddle: What five-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?
Solution: Shorter. (Short + ‘er’)
Houses Made of…
Riddle: If a red house is made of red bricks, and a yellow house is made of yellow bricks, what is a greenhouse made of?
Solution: Glass, all greenhouses are made of glass.
Begins and Ends With T
Riddle: What begins with T, finishes with T, and has T in it?
Solution: A teapot.
Not Benjamin Button
Riddle: I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old, what am I?
Solution: A candle.
Easy to Break
Riddle: What is so fragile that saying its name breaks it?
Solution: Silence.
One Letter and Starts With ‘E’
Riddle: What begins with an E but only has one letter?
Solution: An envelope.
The Long Line
Riddle: You draw a line. Without touching it, how do you make it a longer line?
Solution: Draw a short line next to it and now it’s the longer line.
How the Leopard Changed Spots
Riddle: How can a leopard change its spots?
Solution: By moving from one spot to another.
Easy in, Hard Out
Riddle: What is easy to get into but hard to get out of?
Solution: Trouble.
Brother of Daughters
Riddle: Mary has four daughters, and each of her daughters has a brother — how many children does Mary have?
Solution: Five, each daughter has the same brother.
Snap, Crackle…
Riddle: David’s parents have three sons: Snap, Crackle and…?
Solution: David!
Dinner
Riddle: You bought me for dinner but never eat me. What am I?
Solution: Cutlery.
Dry Without an Umbrella
Riddle: If a brother, his sister, and their dog weren’t under an umbrella, why didn’t they get wet?
Solution: It wasn’t raining.
Success Before Work
Riddle: Where does success come before work?
Solution: The dictionary.
Train Fatalities
Riddle: After a train crashed, every single person died. Who survived?
Solution: All of the couples.
Always on the Move in One Spot
Riddle: What travels around the world but stays in one spot?
Solution: A stamp.
Blind With Four Eyes
Riddle: What has four eyes but can’t see?
Solution: Mississippi.
