Brain Teasers for Kids With Answers
Updated · Best Riddles With Answers editorial team
Quick answer: This page has 42 brain teasers for kids with answers, written in plain words about everyday things like clocks, towels, pencils and pizza. It suits children from about six to twelve, and parents or teachers who want a quick game for the car or classroom. Start with the easy set, then move up to the trickier and hard puzzles.
Easy Brain Teasers For Kids
I have two hands but I cannot clap. What am I?
A clock.
What gets wetter the more it dries?
A towel.
What goes up when the rain comes down?
An umbrella.
What has four legs but cannot walk?
A table.
What can you catch but never throw?
A cold.
Which weighs more, a kilogram of feathers or a kilogram of stones?
Neither. Both weigh one kilogram.
How many legs do two dogs and one bird have all together?
10, because 4 + 4 + 2 = 10.
I have a neck but no head. I wear a cap and I hold your drink. What am I?
A bottle.
I have a thumb and four fingers, but I am not alive. What am I?
A glove.
What is full of holes but can still hold water?
A sponge.
If a red house is made of red bricks and a blue house is made of blue bricks, what is a greenhouse made of?
Glass.
I am long when I am new and short when I am old. I write but I never speak. What am I?
A pencil.
Trickier Brain Teasers For Kids
A farmer has 5 hens and 2 cows. How many legs do the animals have all together?
18. Hens have 2 legs each: 5 x 2 = 10. Cows have 4: 2 x 4 = 8. And 10 + 8 = 18.
Mia has 3 brothers, and each brother has exactly 1 sister. How many children are in the family?
4. The 3 brothers and Mia, who is the one sister.
A rooster lays an egg on the top of a pointed roof. Which way does the egg roll?
It does not roll, because roosters do not lay eggs.
Before Mount Everest was found, what was the tallest mountain in the world?
Mount Everest. It was just not found yet.
How many months of the year have exactly 30 days?
4: April, June, September and November.
How many toes do 3 children have all together?
30, because each child has 10 toes and 3 x 10 = 30.
A bus driver goes the wrong way down a one-way street but does not break the law. Why not?
He is walking, not driving.
I have keys but no locks, and space but no room. You can type on me. What am I?
A keyboard.
Which is faster, hot or cold?
Hot, because you can catch a cold.
What can fill a whole room but takes up no space?
Light.
A bowl holds six apples. You take away four. How many apples do you have?
4, the ones you took.
What belongs to you, but other people use it more than you do?
Your name.
Hard Brain Teasers For Kids
Three children stand under one small umbrella, but none of them gets wet. How?
It is not raining.
I am a number. Add me to myself, take away 4, and the answer is 10. What number am I?
7, because 7 + 7 = 14 and 14 - 4 = 10.
What can you hold in your right hand but never in your left hand?
Your left hand.
How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
A concrete floor is very hard to crack, so the egg lands safely on it.
Mary's mother has four daughters. The first is called April, the second May and the third June. What is the fourth one called?
Mary.
A man pushes his car up to a hotel and loses all his money. What is he doing?
Playing Monopoly.
Two mothers and two daughters each eat a pizza, but only three pizzas are eaten. How?
There are three people: a grandmother, her daughter and her granddaughter.
You have a 5 litre jug and a 3 litre jug. How do you measure exactly 4 litres?
Fill the 5, pour into the 3 (2 left in the 5), empty the 3, pour the 2 in, refill the 5 and top up the 3 with 1. 4 remain.
A classroom has 4 rows of chairs with 6 chairs in each row. If 20 chairs are taken, how many are empty?
4, because 4 x 6 = 24 chairs and 24 - 20 = 4.
What number is half of one quarter of 80?
10. A quarter of 80 is 20, and half of 20 is 10.
Quick-Fire Brain Teasers For Kids
It has legs and a back, but it cannot walk or lie down.
Chair.
It has a ring but no finger.
Telephone.
It has a head and a tail but no body.
Coin.
It comes down but never goes up.
Rain.
It has an eye but cannot see.
Needle.
It runs all day but never walks.
River.
You can break it without ever touching it.
A promise.
It is black and white and read all over.
Newspaper.
How to Use These Brain Teasers
Brain teasers for kids work best as a short, friendly game. Read one aloud, give children a moment to think, and celebrate good guesses even if they are not right. Ask them to explain why they think something before you reveal the answer.
Use the easy section for ages six and seven, and the trickier and hard sections for older children. Taking turns to read riddles aloud builds confidence, and inventing new teasers is a lovely follow-up activity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age are these brain teasers for?
The easy section suits children of about six to eight. The trickier and hard sections suit nine to twelve, and adults will find some of the later puzzles fun as well.
What is a good brain teaser for a young child?
Try this: what has two hands but cannot clap? The answer is a clock. It uses a familiar object and a simple play on words, which makes it ideal for beginners.
How do brain teasers help children learn?
They build logical thinking, vocabulary and patience. Children learn to read clues carefully, question first assumptions and explain their reasoning, which helps in reading and maths lessons.
How should I help a child who is stuck on a brain teaser?
Ask them to say the clue in their own words, then look for a word with two meanings. Give hints before answers, and let them have the pleasure of working it out themselves.
