Image: Midjourney/ MomJunction Design Team
Parenting does not always have to involve strictness, discipline, or teaching morals. It’s also about creating joyful memories and fostering a playful spirit. Adding humor and levity to your relationship by playing harmless pranks on kids can enhance your bond, encourage laughter, and inject fun into daily routines. These light-hearted tricks are a great way to engage your children, build family traditions around humor, and create a happy home. As a parent, you need to ensure your child is comfortable and safe, both mentally and emotionally while having fun. So, here’s a list of fun and safe pranks to play on your kids.
Key Pointers
- Pranks offer a fun way to spice up routine life and break the monotony.
- We have presented a range of prank categories, from food and sleep pranks to phone antics, to offer you diverse ideas.
- Examples of suggested pranks include the April fool prank, color-changing milk, and shower shampoo prank.
- Customize these pranks to suit your preferences while prioritizing children’s mental and emotional well-being.
Simple Pranks For Kids
You can try these pranks on your children. But be watchful as they, too, may try them on you. Tit-for-tat?
1. Block the spout of bottles
Take the shampoo bottle of your kid and unscrew the cap. Cover the top of the bottle with a transparent plastic wrap or a saran wrap. Screw the cap back on the top and cut off the rest of the paper so that nothing shows from outside. Your kid will try hard to get some shampoo out but won’t be able to.
Do remember2. Tape trick on remote
Cover up the remote sensor using a small strip of tape. You may also put one on the TV sensor. Watch your kid trying hard to put their favorite TV show on but do not laugh. They may go as far as asking you to change the batteries!
3. April fool prank
Make chocolate chip cookies on the occasion of April Fool’s Day. But, of course, do not mention April Fool’s beforehand. Mash up potatoes for your kid’s favorite cookie recipe. Do not add spices like black pepper that bring color to the dish. Put a lot of canned black beans, which will look exactly like chocolate chips. Put spoonfuls of the mixture on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 20 minutes. Serve them as cookies, and let your kid taste them only to realize the real taste.
Infographic: Pranks For Children
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Another April fool prank you can try is scaring your kids about selling the house. Michelle Sassa, a mother and a writer, shares that her family loves pranking each other on holidays. She says, “My husband manages real estate, so he had a “For Sale” sign in his work shed. (Hint: Home Depot has ’em too.) We planted that sign on the front lawn so the kids would see it as they got off the school bus. To make the prank more convincing, Den pretended to be on the phone with a realtor when they walked in the door, shouting, “You need to sell it quick, we can’t afford to live here anymore!” They ran to me in shock and I confirmed that yes, I was sorry, but we were moving to an apartment. Cue the tears, then the April Fool’s relief. We all laugh about it now (i).”
4. Eat a fly
Place a raisin inside a napkin and keep it in one of your hands. With the other hand, pretend to swat a fly while your child is watching. Take that napkin and pretend to pick up the fly with the napkin and then eat the raisin. This is one of the popular practical jokes that will make your kid feel disgusted thinking that you have eaten the fly.
5. Playful washroom prank
Replace the liquid soap of your bathroom with the same color syrup for a good sticky prank. It’s just one of the many tricks you can use to bring some laughter and joy to your household.
6. Kids shoe prank
Stuff some toilet paper inside the shoes of your kid. It will make the shoe tighter as if their feet have grown overnight. Casually mention that they have grown big, so they are delighted.
7. Googly eyes
Stick googly eyes on the eggs you keep in the refrigerator. As soon as your kid opens the refrigerator door, they’ll be taken aback for a few seconds. This can be a fun prank for kids at night.
8. Make prank brownies
This is an easy prank at home. Start by telling your kids you have baked them brownies. Take a brown paper and cut many pieces of the letter E. Cover up the baking tray with silver foil. Let them open and see that you made them ‘brown Es’.
9. Can’t drink
Put some gelatin in milk and keep it in the refrigerator. Wait until your child says, “Mom, why can’t I sip it?”
10. What got spilled?
Take a bottle of nail polish and a regular plastic wrap. Brush some nail paint on the wrap and let it dry completely. Once it dries, cut the excess plastic off. Then, place it carefully on your kid’s prized object, whether it is the laptop or a toy. Put a plastic wrap on the nail paint bottle opening, so that it won’t spill. Place it in a position that looks like it is the nail paint that spilled.
11. Sanitizer gone wrong
Add some lubricating jelly in a bottle of hand sanitizer. That’s going to be some surprise lubrication.
Image: IStock
12. Annoying toys
When your kids are playing with toys that work on batteries, take the batteries out. It will take them long to find out what’s happening.
13. Upturned cup with a note
Every child is scared of roaches. Take a thermocol cup and put it upside down with a note, while your kid is away. The note should read something like this: Don’t take this off or it will start crawling (or flying) asif there’s an insect inside.
14. Grease the hands with peanut butter
Put a little peanut butter on the handle of your kid’s drawer or wardrobe. It will be completely out of sight and is quite a thing to watch when your kid gets it in their hands.
15. Follow my orders
Is your kid naughty and yet gives you enough reasons to like their naughtiness? This time play smartly and kill it with your wit. Place a medium-sized rock in the middle of your kid’s room. Make sure the weight of the rock is okay for your child to lift. Use black paint and write “Turn me over” with a wink. Let them turn it over to read, “You just took orders from a rock”.
Quick tipFood Pranks For Kids
Try these mischiefs during holidays, for during normal days you wouldn’t want your kid to miss the school bus!
16. Salt cookies
Clowning around is an amazing way to bond with your children. Announce to your kids that you are baking cookies for them. Replace half of the quantity of sugar you put with salt. Watch their faces as they take their bite with excitement.
17. Twist the regular omelet
Cut a peach in half. Spread some yogurt on the plate to look like the egg white. Put half of the peach on top of it. Half a peach on yogurt looks exactly like an egg omelet.
18. Replace Cheetos
Open a packet of Cheetos and empty it. Take baby carrots and put them inside the packet. Seal the packet with glue and let your kid open it to see what’s inside.
19. Cereal surprise
Add a few drops of food color to your kid’s cereal bowl. Add up the cereal as you usually do. Ask your little one to pour the milk. As they pour the milk, they will see color oozing out.
Image: Shutterstock
20. Oreo combinations
Your kids must be loving Oreo? Make it special this time by replacing the cream with toothpaste. Put it in the refrigerator and let the toothpaste set a little. Wait for the reaction after the first bite.
21. Pringles prank
This is an idea that your child can play on others. Offer Pringles to others after licking the flavor off each one of them.
22. Scream for ice cream
Instead of scoops of ice cream, add mayonnaise scoops or maybe potato mash. Then pour chocolate syrup over it and add some sprinkles before serving.
23. Unlike cheese puffs
Buy cheese puffs and cover them in melted chocolate. Solidify the chocolate by freezing them and put them in a whoppers box. Next, just hand it over to your kid.
24. Freeze the breakfast
Put your little one’s favorite cereal in a bowl. Add milk and put it in the freezer for the entire night. Before serving it in the morning, add some milk on top to hide the frozenness. Your child will then clank their spoon on it.
25. Onion caramel lollipops
Take some onions and remove the stems. Peel them and cut off the ends to make them smooth. Put wooden craft sticks into them. Make the caramel mixture and roll the onions in it. Use a spatula to spread the caramel on the onion surface evenly. Put them in a baking dish and then cool them in the fridge. Your kids will bite eagerly only to realize it is not something they would want to eat.
26. Color changing milk
Open the milk carton that your kids have milk from. Add some food coloring to it. Use a color that is safe to consume. Shake the carton so that the color is spread through the milk. Be prepared to catch their surprise when they see red or green milk pouring out of the carton.
Epic Pranks For Kids
Remember some pranks you tried on your friends or they tried on you as a child? It’s time you use them again.
27. Prank with straws
Take a small part of marshmallow and shove it inside one end of the straw to clog it. Put this straw in your kid’s favorite beverage and see them battling to get a sip.
28. Sew it away
Take your kid’s socks and sew it halfway. Keep it generally in its usual place. As your little one tries to put their feet inside, they’ll suddenly find themselves stuck.
29. Bubble wrap pranks
Kids love bursting bubbles. Slide bubble wrap inside your child’s rug and wait for them to step on it.
30. Insect alert
This epic horseplay involves cutting up a giant beetle or spider from a colored paper and sticking it underneath your kid’s lampshade. Wait until they switch on the lamp.
31. Much effort, no money
Take a coin and glue it to the ground. Walk away and casually ask your kid to pick up the coin for you. Watch as they struggle to pick it up.
Image: IStock
32. Casual printouts
Take a print out of an image of the cartoon or actor your kid dislikes, but use a funny one. Paste the cut-out outside your kid’s window. Tell them casually at a chosen hour to go and open the window. Just when they take off the window curtain, a surprise is waiting.
33. Doughnut sprouts prank
Ask your kids to plant some doughnut seeds in the backyard one night. Replace those with real doughnut, which they get to find in the morning. This is a feel-good prank for your child.
34. No mouse
Take a tiny picture of Nicolas Cage, cut it out and stick it using a cello tape at the bottom of your kid’s mouse. The mouse will stop moving. When your kid reverses it to see what’s wrong, they will see Cage. Bring an instant smile on their face.
35. Honking seat
Take up some tape and an air horn. Put it down the seat of the chair your kid sits in. As soon as they sit, it will give out a funny sound along with loads of laughter as they caper around.
36. Fresh smell
Buy a bait spray of shrimp scent and wrap it up with the regular air freshener wrap. Wait until the attractive smell gets your little one running.
37. Upturned glass prank
Fill a glass with water. Take a coaster and place it on the top of the glass. While holding the coaster, turn the glass over. The coaster should be sticking to the glass. Along with the coaster, keep the glass flat down. Pull the coaster very fast from below the glass and keep it like that. Your kid will lift the ‘empty’ upside-down glass only to see the water pour out. You can also add a note like, “Happy cleaning, love mommy”.
38. Computer freeze prank
Take a screenshot of the desktop and save it as the desktop background. Next, right-click on the desktop, hover on the ‘View’ option, and untick the ‘Show desktop icons’ option. This makes the desktop look empty. When your child tries to access any folder or a shortcut to a game, they will be left confused, wondering why it won’t open.
39. Halloween prank for kids
This Halloween
you can give your kids a scare when they are reaching for the toilet paper. Take a black eyeliner and draw a spider. Roll it back to normal. Wait until your kids roll the paper out.
Phone Pranks For Kids
Phone pranks have probably been in existence since the invention of the telephone itself. Let’s see some of them here.
Image: Shutterstock
40. Random prank calls
work well when they are done with the perfect tonal change. However, make sure you don’t go overboard and end up scaring your child. Call your kid when they are alone at home, or from another room so that they don’t suspect. Call so that only your child is there to pick up. Change your voice a little.
If you don’t have pets like cats or dogs, try this:
You: “Hi, your cat is in my garden”
To this, your child will obviously say, “I don’t have a cat.”
You: “I don’t have a garden either.”
You can continue the conversation or cut the call and have a laugh.
Quick tip41. What do you want?
Another funny prank that your child can play on others is to make some wisecracks while ordering a pizza. They can call up a pizza shop and ask for the phone number of another pizza store when the receiver picks up and says, “What do you want sir?” This can be a hilarious way to inject some humor into everyday situations and bring a smile to everyone’s face.
Birthday Party Pranks For Kids
Birthdays are not just about sweet wishes and dishes. It’s time for some shenanigans too.
42. Surprise birthday cake
On your kid’s birthday, tell them you’ll bake a sponge cake. Take a sponge and cut it into triangle shapes. Stick these cake pieces on white cardboard cut out to fit them all in. Then put the icing on it the way you’ll do on a regular cake. Put sprinkles generously to give it a delicious look. Place this cake on the table for your kid to cut.
It is a harmless prank, but make sure you have another real cake for your kid to cut.
43. Honk and wish
Another great surprise birthday prank you can play on your kid is by writing at the back of your car with removable paint, “Honk and say happy birthday for Jimmy is 12!” Passers-by will keep honking and wishing your kid. He will be surprised and bewildered to the core.
Bathroom Pranks For Kids
Is your child spending too much time in the bathroom? Try these pranks then.
44. Soap bar prank
Take a bar of soap and paint both sides with transparent nail polish. Keep it in the bathroom as usual. When your kid starts using the soap, it won’t lather. Let them wonder, “what just went wrong?”
Image: IStock
45. Toilet seat music
Take a small packet of pasta and secure it with tape beneath the toilet seat. When your kid sits down, the crunching sound will make them think they have cracked the seat.
46. Quite a roll!
Take a new cello tape roll, and roll it around using a few toilet paper sheets, so that it does not show. But before you roll the paper, add a fun message to make your little one finally get a good prank laugh.
47. Quick wash
Put some duct tape at the opening of the tap in the washbasin before your child goes there. Just as they open the tap, they’ll get sprayed with water.
48. Shower shampoo prank
You can try this when your little victim is in the shower. Just when they start shampooing their hair, tiptoe from behind with a bottle of shampoo in your hand. When your kid has lathered their hair with shampoo and the shower has almost washed the foam away, put more shampoo on their head from behind. Resist laughing as your child slowly gets annoyed as the shampoo refuses to rinse off.
Sleeping Pranks
Sleep time can also be an opportunity for some light-hearted fun and playful japes.
49. Sleep painting
To add some lightheartedness and humor to your parenting, you might want to consider trying out some skylarking on your children. When your kid is sleeping, take a temporary marker and draw a mustache on their face. Wait until they wake up in the morning to wash their face. Sleep painting is also one of the best pranks to do on your brother or sister, especially if they sleep in the same room.
50. Where did I end up?
Engaging in tomfoolery can be a great way to make your child laugh and create some lasting memories. For example, when your child is asleep, shift them to a different room or a completely absurd location. If the child has siblings, shift them to each other’s beds. It will be hilarious to wake up in some other place without remembering anything.
51. Say hello
This prank is perfect for teasing those kids who take forever to wake up in the morning. Place a creepy head mask beside their pillow while they are sleeping.
52. Good morning!
Put some shaving cream or toothpaste in your kid’s hands while they are sleeping. Then tickle their nose. They will lather their face while trying to itch.
Image: Shutterstock
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the potential risks of playing pranks on children?
Pranks can irritate children and annoy them. Sometimes, they might even imitate your prank on a friend or sibling and may not know where to draw the line. If you do not reveal the truth, they may even believe your prank to be true, which can hurt them eventually.
2. How can I involve children in planning and executing pranks?
You can plan a prank or gags with your child but remember to explain to them what is allowed in a prank and what is not fair. Ask them to play a small part in the prank, so they feel involved and understand how to play a prank safely.
3. Can playing pranks on children be a good way to teach them important life lessons?
Pranks teach children to become more observant and aware of their surroundings. It can hone their problem-solving skills as they try to find their way out of unexpected problems. It may also help them teach empathy, letting them know that rude pranks may hurt people.
4. How can I ensure a prank is age-appropriate?
Plan a prank according to the expected reaction. A prank should evoke laughter and not a sense of fear or humiliation. Children can get scared easily, so it is best to avoid pranks that can scare them or extremely tricky pranks that can make them feel foolish. Instead, opt for lighthearted pranks that involve playful ribbing and good-natured teasing.
Pranks and banter aren’t just for kids. Being parents, you too can play some pranks on kids provided they are harmless and comfortable for the child. So pick a few pranks on kids from the list above and have some fun and entertaining time with your child. These pranks will bring giggles and laughter with no mess. So get ready to spend some fun time with your child with pranks on kids that will bring joy and big smiles to your children’s faces.
Get ready to roll on the floor laughing with these hilarious and harmless pranks to play on your friends and family. Don’t wait until April Fool’s Day to try out these awesome pranks!
Personal Experience: Source
MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.
i. Politically incorrect family April Fool’s pranks.https://medium.com/@msassa.ink/politically-incorrect-family-april-fools-pranks-dd22e8ceb217
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