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!
- [Advanced Level] Difficult Riddles for Elementary School Students
- Recommended riddles for elementary school students. A collection of kid-friendly riddles.
- [Challenging and Fun!] Quizzes & Riddles for Adults
- [Trick Quiz] Quiz Questions That Excite Everyone from Kids to Adults
- Fun riddles that kids will love
- [Easy] Quizzes That Elementary School Students Can Solve! A Collection to Nurture Wisdom
- Interesting riddles: a collection of simple and fun questions
- A collection of challenging quizzes for adults [Difficult]
- Fun quizzes for elementary school kids: a collection of questions everyone can enjoy together
- Simple! A quiz for kids. Let’s develop their thinking skills!
- [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)
There are 5 candies. If you lick one, how many are there?
@igosso.youtube♪ Original Song – Igossou [YouTube] – Igossou [YouTube]
It seems like a question that would trip up adults more than children.
When you read the problem statement, you instinctively want to treat it like an arithmetic problem and think, “5 – 1 = 4, so the answer is 4!” But remember, it’s a trick question.
The hint to solving it is that the candy wasn’t given to someone else, nor did it disappear.
If you think about how many candies you have after you lick one, you should arrive at the correct answer.
An elementary school student with a flexible mind might solve it right away!
Let’s loosen up our thinking! A collection of tricky riddles for kids (51–60)
What animal is bigger than a whale but smaller than a killifish?
See the answer
dolphin
To say that there’s no animal bigger than a whale and smaller than a killifish, we use a pun: we say “iruka” (which means dolphin) as a play on words with “inai” (there isn’t). The trick is to change the intonation when you say the comeback line, like “Sonna no iruka!” (which can sound like “Is that a dolphin?” or “Who would buy that?” depending on intonation). The correct answer is “iruka” (dolphin).
A truck loaded with watermelon, bananas, and apples dropped something. What did it drop?
See the answer
speed
What the truck dropped was not the fruit it was carrying, but its speed (velocity). This indicates that the truck suddenly slowed down. In other words, even if it was loaded with watermelons, bananas, and apples, what actually gets dropped isn’t the cargo, but the speed of its movement.
A taxi driver is going the wrong way down the road, but the police don’t stop him. Why is that?
See the answer
Because it’s the driver who’s running
The reason the taxi driver is going the wrong way down the road is that he isn’t driving a car—he’s walking or running himself. In other words, it’s a person running, not a car, so the police don’t stop him. The key is that it’s a play on the meaning of the words.
When is honey sweet?
@igosso.youtube♪ Original Song – Igossou [YouTube] – Igossou [YouTube]
Honey is sweet and delicious, isn’t it? You can pour it on pancakes, add it to tea instead of sugar—there are countless dishes and products that use honey.
So let’s try a honey-themed trick quiz! When is honey sweet? “In the season when bees fly a lot?” “Does it have something to do with the number eight?” Many people might think that, but the answer is actually very simple! Just think: when do you feel it’s “sweet”? If you approach it that way, the correct answer should come to you easily!
What is something that doesn’t decrease no matter what you eat?
What is something that doesn’t get smaller no matter what you eat? Right now, all sorts of foods are probably popping into your mind: rice balls, sandwiches, apples, tangerines, sweets… There are so many edible things, but once you eat them, they’re gone, right? In other words, if you focus on the food when thinking about this question, you won’t get the right answer.
It’s a trick question, so you need to look at it from a slightly different angle.
The correct answer is “your mouth.” It certainly eats anything, but it’s the food that diminishes—the mouth doesn’t get smaller!
An elderly person carrying large luggage got on the train. But no one offered their seat. Why do you think that is?
See the answer
Because there were many seats available.
The reason the people around didn’t offer their seats when an elderly person carrying large luggage got on the train was that there were plenty of empty seats to begin with. In other words, the elderly person could sit wherever they liked, so there was no need for anyone to go out of their way to give up a seat.