Fun challenges for kids can be used at home as a boredom buster, in the classroom to enhance lesson plans, and even as kids' birthday party games. Kids challenges pit a child against himself to complete a seemingly impossible task.
Challenges for Kids Using Everyday Items
Whether it's a snow day or summer vacation if you're home too long you might get bored. Beat the boredom blues by creating fun challenges using things you already have at home.
Stuffed Animal Camouflage Challenge
If you're a kid with loads of stuffed animals, use them to hide yourself from an unsuspecting person like the scene from the classic movie ET. You'll probably need a partner to help you get fully hidden.
- Gather all the stuffed animals you can find.
- Lay down in a place your target is sure to spot.
- Have your partner cover you in stuffed animals so only your eyes and nose are visible.
- Wait patiently for the target to walk by.
- If they don't notice you're in the pile, you win!
Fork Stacking Challenge
How tall can you stack forks before they fall over? Grab all the metal or plastic forks you can to complete this challenge. Make sure all your forks are the same size and made from the same material.
- Start by placing one fork face-down on a flat surface.
- Stack the next fork so the pronged part is on top of the handle from the first fork.
- Continue alternating the direction of the forks.
- For your tower to count, it must stand on its own for five seconds.
Water Talking Challenge
Try to get your friends to understand what you're saying when your mouth is full of water.
- Choose a category or topic such as movie titles or song lyrics.
- Take a big sip of water and hold it in your mouth.
- Say a phrase from your category. You can repeat it as many times as you want.
- You can set a time limit and try to get them to guess in the shortest time or win the challenge by getting them to guess correctly no matter how long it takes.
- If you spit out any water, you are disqualified.
Safe Food Challenges for Kids
Food challenges are all over YouTube and a lot of times they aren't safe for anyone, especially kids. These funny food challenges are inspired by trending YouTube challenges but are safe for kids and families to try together.
Touch It or Taste It Challenge
Kids must choose whether to hold or eat an unlabeled item in this fun group food challenge. Players can only hold one item in each hand, so once their hands are full they'll have no choice but to eat new items. Players can quit the game at any time, but the goal is to get through every round.
- Have one person raid the pantry and fridge for things kids might not want to eat or hold in their hand.
- Put each in a separate zip-top bag then number all the bags. Make sure there are enough for three or four rounds and keep the bags out of sight.
- Choose a play order and each person chooses a number from those remaining on their turn.
- The player can choose to eat the bagged item or hold it in one of their hands for the remainder of the game.
Cinnamon Gum Stick Challenge
How many sticks of gum can you chew at one time? Find out with this sweet and spicy challenge!
- Buy several packs of the gum stick version of a cinnamon gum like Big Red.
- Start stuffing sticks of gum in your mouth until you can't fit anymore and still chew.
- You must chew the wad of gum for at least ten seconds for it to count.
7 Second Yogurt Cup Challenge
You've seen the challenge where people try to chug a whole gallon of milk at once, but this yogurt version is more kid-friendly.
- Grab a pre-packaged cup of smooth yogurt. Make sure it doesn't have chunks in it.
- Chug the entire cup of yogurt in 7 seconds.
- If you spill any of the yogurt or spit it out within ten seconds of finishing the cup, you lose.
Physical Challenges for Kids
Kids who are more active or looking to make their own challenge video can try simple physical challenges. Despite the name, these challenges don't require extreme strength, they are just more active and use parts or all of your body
Lego Minifigure Challenge
Have you ever tried to walk around like a Lego Minifigure? If not, this is your chance to feel like the star of your own Lego movie! See how long you can last throughout a day moving only as a Minifigure can.
- You can only turn your head side to side, not up and down.
- You can only raise your arms straight up in front of you and down to your sides.
- Your hands are now claws and you can't use your fingers normally.
- You can bend forward and backward at the waist, but you can't twist.
- You can't bend your legs and can only move them straight forward or straight backward.
Telephone Challenge
Just like the classic kids game of telephone, you can only talk to people by cupping your hand over their ear and whispering your response in their ear. See if you can keep up this social challenge for an entire day.
- Anytime you want to say something to another person you have to whisper it in their ear.
- If you are participating in a group conversation and want to say something to the whole group, you have to whisper it in each person's ear.
No Arms Challenge
This is a great challenge for sleepovers because you do it while brushing your teeth or changing your clothes.
- Choose a task that's part of your normal daily routine like brushing your teeth or changing into pajamas.
- Place your hands behind your back and hold them together.
- Complete your task using any part of your body and anything in the room, like furniture. The only thing you can't do is pull your hands apart.
Quick and Easy Challenge Ideas for Kids
Any activity can become a challenge when you set limits and decide on an end goal.
- Minute to Win it Style games for kids feature funny challenges you try to complete in under 60 seconds.
- When you need a quiet challenge, check out printable logic puzzles for kids that challenge their minds.
- For an easy physical challenge, see if you can jump rope to an entire classic jump rope song without missing a beat.
- Outdoor challenges like a ropes course, obstacle course, or agility course help burn off more energy.
- Gross out participants with Fear Factor kids party games that challenge you to eat or identify weird and scary things.
- Challenge your logical thinking skills with trick questions for kids. Set a timer or see how many you can get right in a row.
Are You Up for the Challenge?
Whether you're competing against others or just yourself, interesting kids challenges are a fun way to pass the time. Take pictures or video of your challenge attempts to share with friends and family as part of the fun.
