Childhood is a vital stage that is often identified with innocence and the discovery of the world. As we grow up we learn more and more, and we can reflect on aspects of which we are not aware in childhood.

However, sometimes we can encounter situations or even expressions that make us wrong regardless of age. This is what happens with trick questions, which are designed so that when they are apparently easy the person answers automatically without realizing that such automatism leads to error.

It is also something that can help us think and can be entertaining, although it is usually advisable to take into account the abilities of the person in question in order to adapt them and make them understandable (an adult does not have the same abilities as a seven-year-old child).

Throughout this article we are going to present a series of trick questions for children, with the aim of making them think and reflect , at the same time as we induce them to realise the mistakes we make when quickly processing information and that finally they can be an enjoyable way to pass the time, in a similar way to riddles.

Children’s Leading Edge Questions with Answers

Next we will see a total of 35 different trick questions that are suitable for children of different ages , as long as they have a sufficient developmental level to understand the concepts being discussed and why the question in question is misleading.

1. How many months have 28 days?

This trick question is quite well known. The catch is that the first thing we think about is February, the only month that can have only 28 days.

Now, the question is not that, but how many months have 28 days. And the correct answer is… all twelve, that is, all of them. From January to December, every month on our calendar has at least 28 days.

2. What can you find in the middle of each month?

The first thing most people will start thinking about after this question is some kind of event or occurrence that might happen once a month. However, the answer to this question is simpler and more literal than that : what we can find in the middle of each month is the letter “e”.

3. A is B’s father, but B is not A’s son. Who is B?

This question can surprise us and leave us unanswered. But in reality the explanation is relatively simple: A is the father of a girl, who is the daughter (and not the son) of B.

4. What is the correct way to write “sleeping”?

Although most will think of the letters that make up the word, what we really need in order to write that word is just… to be awake.

5. What color are the sleeves of Eduardo’s red vest?

Maybe the first idea that comes to mind is to answer red but… actually the vests don’t have sleeves.

6. How can someone go without sleep for ten days and not be sleepy?

The answer to this riddle is… sleeping at night.

7. What does a tailor who weighs 80 kg measure?

An adult or an older child will try to think of some way of calculating what the tailor’s height might be, but the truth is that what a tailor measures is nothing more than fabric, in his trade. In fact, it is likely that a young child can solve this question more easily than an adult .

8. Clara’s father has 5 daughters: Jana, Jena, Jina, Jona and…

Possibly the first thing that comes to mind is to continue the series with Juna. But in reality… in the very statement we are saying who the fifth daughter is: Clara.

9. What is that which even if it is said cannot be heard?

Trick questions do not necessarily have to be dedicated to wrong answers, but can also lead to confusion as the very statement of questions is confusing and counterintuitive without an obvious answer. This is the case with this one, in which the correct answer is silence.

10. What goes up and down but always stays in the same place?

The impression of movement that this sentence conveys may seem confusing and leave us without a clear answer. But there is one: some stairs.

11. What comes first?

A trick question where the question is not very understandable. Unless we note that “you’re welcome” is an expression that is usually preceded by “Thank you”. This is one of the simplest trick questions for children, and that is why it is funny.

12. Why do divers jump off a boat with their backs turned?

Although technically we could extract different answers to this question , the simplest explanation is to assess what would happen if they jumped head-on: they would throw themselves to the floor of the boat.

What do they call an elevator in China?

We don’t need to know the language to know how to do it: just like the rest of the world, to call a lift in China, we just press the button.

14. Paris begins with P, and ends with…?

The correct answer is not the s in Paris… but which letter the word begins and ends with. In other words, the correct answer is that it ends begins with t.

15. Which is the bird that has the most letters on it?

This question only makes sense if it is asked orally. In that case we do not need to start thinking about bird names to answer this question, because the bird (rather “abe”) with more letters in it is none other than the alphabet.

16. What is the first thing an elephant does when the sun rises?

Although their behaviour may be many, what this question intends to do is not to talk about these but about what the elephant provokes or generates when the light reaches it . The answer to this question: shadow.

17. If a family has two daughters, two mothers, a grandmother and a granddaughter, how many people make up this family?

Although it seems that there are many people involved, in reality there are three women: two are mothers, one of them a grandmother of her daughter’s daughter. Thus, we would have two mothers (the grandmother and the mother), two daughters (the daughter and mother and the daughter and granddaughter), a grandmother and a granddaughter.

18. What animal is always full?

The answer to this riddle is none other than the whale.

19. How many animals did Moses put in the Ark?

The first thing we can think of is to start imagining how many species of animals were put into the ark. However, we need to realize that in reality, it was Noah, not Moses, who put animals in the Ark. The answer is none.

20. If I have ten fish in the bowl and three drown… how many fish do I have?

We will still have ten fish left, because on the one hand a fish should not drown in the water and on the other hand we have not said that the fish we count have to be alive.

21. What always comes and never comes?

Although this question is more likely to be answered by an older child, a teenager or an adult, the answer to this question would be tomorrow or the future, since there will never be a time when the future ceases to be ahead: what is future now will then be present and there will be another future (or another day in the case of tomorrow).

22. Where can we find a sea without water?

The only place where we can find a sea, or even an ocean, without any water… is a map .

23. How can a child kick a ball 10 feet and then come back alone?

The funny thing here is that most people will think of a forward shot and try to figure out how to turn the ball around. But in reality it is also possible to shoot upwards, which will bring the ball back down to its starting position.

24. If a rooster lays an egg on top of a bell tower… which way will it fall?

No matter how many factors we try to put in place to calculate where it will fall, the truth is that the correct answer is that it will fall to none: the roosters do not lay eggs.

25. If someone lives in Spain, why can’t he be buried in Canada?

It is not for any kind of political question ; the main reason is the fact that we just said that person…lives.

26. What has a face but no body?

We’re not talking about any kind of living thing, but a coin.

27. What is an ear?

This question only makes sense if it is asked orally, not so much in writing. The answer to this question does not necessarily involve quoting one of the sense organs, but in this case we are talking about a “horeja”, that is, the answer would be sixty “minutejos”.

28. Who is the only person who has never lost a football game?

It’s not the players, it’s not the fans, it’s not the coaching staff. The only person who never loses no matter what the outcome of the match is the referee.

29. What is a barrel filled with so that it weighs less?

This can be difficult for a child, and even for an adult, to answer. Whatever we put in the barrel, the weight will increase. The only thing we can fill them with to make them weigh less is holes.

30. What is the longest day of the week?

Every day is just as long in terms of time. But as far as the length of the word is concerned, the longest day is Wednesday. This is another example of trick questions for children based on the properties of language.

31. What were the names of the ninja turtles?

Although today’s children may not remember them or may never have seen them, in fact, it is not necessary to know the names to answer the question. The answer is simply that they were called on the phone.

32. Why can’t a Tyrannosaurus Rex applaud?

The answer to this question is to remember a simple fact: we are talking about an extinct animal.

33. Which weighs more: a kilo of feathers or a kilo of lead?

The answer to this question is simple: both weigh the same regardless of the material .

34. If during a race you overtake the runner-up, what position are you in?

The first thing that most people would say automatically, including adults, would be that we would be first. However, if we overtake the second one, we will really only be assuming the position that the second one had: we will therefore be in second position.

35. Before Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

The fact that we hadn’t discovered it doesn’t stop Mount Everest from being the world’s highest mountain to emerge. The answer is that it’s still Mount Everest.

Bibliographic references:

  • Zornado, Joseph L. (2001). Inventing the Child: Culture, Ideology, and the Story of Childhood. New York: Garland.