Children love riddles. And for parents, riddles can be a fun and versatile way to promote language development.
I began making up my own “ridiculous riddles” a few years ago and I’ve used them in these ways:
- To nurture speaking and listening skills. For me, riddles are especially handy at mealtimes. Plus, after hearing my riddles, Lulu and Roy are often eager to exercise their imagination and make up riddles of their own.
- To increase exposure to reading material. Riddles can be used as captive reading material in the home (see Why You Must Put a Whiteboard in the Bathroom) or as lunchtime notes when away at school. (Just pose the question and let them ponder the answer until you meet.)
- To encourage creativity and writing. In addition to using them orally, riddles are a great way to practice writing. Parent and child invent a few riddles for each other and then swap papers to guess the answers. (The guesses need to be written as well.)
Each “Ridiculous Riddles” post features a few silly riddles that I made up for my kids. Feel free to try them with your own children in the ways I’ve described, and give a go at creating new riddles, too. I think you’ll find that “ridiculous riddles” can be an entertaining and effective addition to your bag of tricks!
Make a guess before clicking the “plus sign” to reveal the answer!
A cat is chasing a mouse. But the mouse gets away. Why?
Because the mouse is riding a motorcycle.
What's white and fluffy and has big fangs?
A sabertooth lamb.
What runs and screams and has 10 legs?
You with an octopus on your head.
P.S. Get my list of funny tongue twisters for kids!
How about you? Have you made up any “ridiculous riddles”? Please share them below!
4 Responses
Would love my child to speak English, French and Spanish.
Aurore, be playfully proactive each day, and you and your child can travel a long way together on your bilingual journey.
My riddle question is – “What can run but can’t walk???”
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I love reading your blog. I had earlier researched about various riddle questions but these three which you posted were fresh and new. 🙂 I could relate my childhood days when reading these questions and noted down to pose questions to my child. I learnt about the riddle’s benefits from this blog here https://iraparenting.com/blog/unforgettable-hindi-riddles-for-children/ and started to engage my child with riddle challenges.
Rian, maybe the answer to your riddle is…
Your nose!
I’m happy to hear that you’re enjoying my riddles, and my blog!