Logic Riddles for Kids
- 15 riddles
- Ages 8-13
- Answers included
These are solved by reasoning rather than by spotting a play on words, so the explanation matters as much as the answer.
Work through the reasoning out loud with a child rather than just checking whether they were right. That is where the value is.
A farmer must cross a river with a fox, a chicken and a bag of grain. His boat holds only himself and one item. The fox eats the chicken; the chicken eats the grain. How?
Take the chicken over. Come back. Take the fox over and bring the chicken back. Leave the chicken, take the grain over. Come back for the chickenThe trick is that something can be brought back, which most people never consider.
Two fathers and two sons went fishing and caught three fish, and each took home one. How?
There were three people: a grandfather, his son, and his son's sonThe middle man is both a father and a son.
A man looks at a portrait and says: brothers and sisters I have none, but that man's father is my father's son. Who is in the portrait?
His own son'My father's son' is the speaker himself, since he has no brothers.
You have two coins totalling thirty rupees. One of them is not a twenty. What are they?
A twenty and a tenOnly one of them is not a twenty. The other one is.
A bat and a ball cost 110 rupees. The bat costs 100 more than the ball. What is the ball?
Five rupeesThe bat is 105, which is 100 more than 5. Most people answer 10 without checking.
If it takes five machines five minutes to make five items, how long for 100 machines to make 100 items?
Five minutesEach machine takes five minutes per item, so 100 machines make 100 items in the same five minutes.
A lily pad doubles in size every day and covers the lake on day 48. When was it half covered?
Day 47If it doubles daily, the day before full is exactly half.
You are in a race and overtake the person in second place. What position are you in?
SecondYou took second place, not first. Most people say first.
A man builds a house with all four walls facing south. A bear walks past. What colour is it?
WhiteAll four walls face south only at the North Pole, where the bears are polar bears.
There are three switches downstairs and one bulb upstairs. You may go up only once. How do you tell which switch it is?
Turn on switch one for ten minutes, turn it off, turn on switch two, then go up. Lit means two; off but warm means one; off and cold means threeThe extra piece of information is heat, which people forget the bulb produces.
A rooster lays an egg on a sloping roof. Which side does it roll down?
Neither, because roosters do not lay eggsThe question hides a false premise inside a geometry problem.
How many months have 28 days?
All twelveEvery month contains at least 28 days.
A doctor gives you three pills and says take one every half hour. How long do they last?
One hourThe first is taken immediately, so only two half-hour gaps follow.
A shopkeeper is 180 cm tall and wears size 9 shoes. What does he weigh?
GoodsThe height and shoe size are there to send you looking for a number.
If you were running a race and passed the person in last place, what position would you be in?
This is impossibleIf you pass someone, they are behind you, so they were not last.
Questions about Logic Riddles for Kids
How are logic riddles different from ordinary riddles?
Ordinary riddles turn on wordplay or a hidden description. These are solved by reasoning step by step, and the method matters more than the answer.
What age are these for?
Ages eight to thirteen. Younger children can do several of them with an adult reasoning aloud alongside them.
Why do so many people get the overtaking one wrong?
Because the mind hears 'overtake' and jumps to winning. Overtaking second place puts you in second place.
What is the best way to use these with a child?
Ask them to explain why the answer is right, not just to give it. A child who can explain the lily pad puzzle has understood doubling.