Let's Think Outside the Box! A Collection of Challenging Riddles for Kids
“Huh? The kids solved this problem faster than the adults!” That’s the magic of riddles—you can have those surprising experiences.
Adults tend to be bound by fixed ideas, while children tackle problems with flexible thinking, don’t they?
In this article, we’ll introduce challenging riddles for kids that parents and children can enjoy together.
They don’t just foster thinking and concentration—thanks to those eye-opening “Aha!” answers, they might boost your knowledge and spark of insight, too.
Try them for your own skill-building, or as a fun activity with family and friends!
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- [Easy] Quiz for Middle School Students
- [Satisfying When Solved] Challenging Quizzes Recommended for Elementary School Students!
- Take on the challenge like a puzzle! A collection of logic quizzes that also work as brain teasers.
Let’s Think Outside the Box! A Collection of Challenging Riddles for Kids (41–50)
What gets smaller the bigger it gets?
The bigger it gets, the smaller it becomes… What does that even mean? you might wonder.
“Getting bigger” and “getting smaller” are opposites, and something that gets bigger doesn’t become smaller.
What we need to consider when solving this riddle is how to interpret “bigger.” In this puzzle, “bigger” means “growing.” When you grow, isn’t there something that becomes smaller? You probably experience it often when the seasons change.
The answer is clothes! As your body grows and gets bigger, the clothes you wore last year become too small and no longer fit.
Five people are playing hide-and-seek. Two have been found. How many are left?
See the answer
2 people
When five people are playing hide-and-seek and two are found, that means three still haven’t been found. But one of those three is the seeker, so only two are actually hiding. The seeker is the one who looks for others, not the one who gets found, so they’re not counted.
What part of speech is “strawberry”?
If you’re asked what language “strawberry” is, you’d naturally say English.
But this is a trick question! The answer isn’t English.
So what is it? To solve it, you need to realize it’s a trick and notice that the “go” in “nani go” (“what language”) is written in hiragana, not the kanji for “language.” And what does “strawberry” actually refer to in the first place? Once you see that, you’ll reach the answer! It’s a question that tends to be swayed by your knowledge, but a child might answer it in an instant.
What is something you use but cannot own?
Scissors, pencils, erasers, rulers… most tools you’re familiar with are basically things you hold in your hand to use, right? So let’s try a riddle: “What can be used but cannot be held?” You might think of various tools, but you won’t easily get the right answer if you only think in terms of “objects.” First, try considering things you can use that aren’t objects.
By the way, the answer is “your name.” You use it when introducing yourself or when you want friends to know about you, but you certainly can’t “hold” it.
What time is it now?
See the answer
two characters
When someone asks, “What time is it now?” you’d normally answer with a time like three o’clock or six o’clock, right? But this riddle is different. If you focus on the phrase “What time is it now?” itself, it contains two words—“now” and “what time”—so together it makes ‘two characters’ (ni-moji).
What gets hotter as it gets colder?
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This puzzle is tricky because there are many possible answers.
Things that get hotter as it gets colder… You might be thinking of hand warmers or clothing, but the correct answer is something else.
First, try picturing a winter scene.
List a few things you associate with it, and think about “getting hot” as the keyword.
Also pay close attention to the fact that it’s written in hiragana! The answer is something everyone knows, and you’re likely to see it at least once in summer.
Here’s a hint: it’s something that melts in heat.
What can go anywhere but doesn’t move?
Do many kids love traveling? Just going somewhere different from usual makes you feel excited, doesn’t it? So let’s try this riddle: “What can go anywhere but doesn’t move?” When you think of going anywhere, vehicles like cars, bicycles, and trains come to mind, but they all move, right? So those aren’t the answer.
If you think about something that makes you feel like you’ve gone somewhere without actually going, you might reach the answer.
The correct answer is “a map.” On a map, you can go to various countries, but the map itself doesn’t move.