Family-Friendly April Fools Day Pranks for Kids

One of the silliest and wackiest holidays is just around the corner, and you know what that means! It’s time to share some of our favorite family-friendly April Fools Day pranks for kids of all ages to take part in and enjoy your playful mischief. 

There are very few things more satisfying than pulling a fast one on your children and then laughing it off together, or seeing their precious “wow” expression when they realize they’ve been tricked! Aside from having lots of fun, April Fools Day pranks are a great way for kids to build character, tolerance, and learn not to take life too seriously. After all, nobody wants a grouchy friend, so participating in harmless family teasing has great social value. 

However, the real motivation for taking part in April Fools Day is the memories that stay with you forever. Soon, you’ll all find yourself at the dinner table reminiscing about the time dad pulled one on mom! 

For these reasons, in this article, we’ve shared some great family-friendly April Fools Day pranks for kids. Keep reading to find out what’s included! 

Top 15 April Fools Day Pranks for Kids

Whether you want to trick your kids or you want to help your kids trick other members of the family, we got you! Our list is composed of 15 easy-to-do pranks that all kids can understand, regardless of their age!

Tape the Light Switch

Let’s start with probably the easiest one to implement – for kids too! As the name suggests, all you need is a tape, and for the best outcome, it’s preferred that it’s transparent. The transparent tape will really do the trick, especially if you cut it so it fits the shape of the switch, or instruct kids to do that! 

Then, it’s time to wait and see how the “victim” tries to turn on the light, but can’t! It will probably take them a while until they realize there’s tape! 

The Baby Monitor Prank

This one is actually more elaborate, but really funny! Hopefully, you keep your baby monitor system cause you’re going to need it! The gist of the prank is to take the baby part of the device with you and put the other device in your kids’ room, their backpack, or another room where they’re playing or studying. 

Take a peek at what they’re doing (without them knowing) and start speaking – “Don’t touch that!” or “Sit right!” or anything else that comes to mind associated with your child’s actions. They’re going to think you’re inside their head! It’s a really cool and fun trick. 

Hidden Message in the Toilet Paper

Another way to surprise kids is to write them a message inside the toilet paper. Simply glue a piece of paper on the inside of the toilet paper and wait for them to discover it. What can you write? Well, you can praise them for good hygiene habits, or write a silly joke, such as “Toothbrush: My job is stinky! I really hate it! Toilet paper: You don’t say!”

Salty Toothbrush Prank

Speaking of toothbrushes, another way to prank the kids, or show them how to prank their siblings, is by putting a little bit of salt on the toothbrush. It’s not noticeable until they put it in their mouth, then the fun beings!

Blue Milk

For this prank, you’ll need blue food coloring. Of course, you can choose other colors too, but blue is really funny because it’s not associated with food! There’s no blue food, until this April Fools Day! Kids will be amazed, but try to act like everything is normal – like you’re not even noticing there’s anything different. This is going to make the situation so much funnier. 

Also, kids can make this joke on another family member. If they don’t drink milk, they can also add blue milk to their coffee and watch their reaction. Although the coffee will have weird color, the taste will be the same! 

Wrong Bed

This one is a classic, but you need heavy sleepers! If your kids are light sleepers you’ll probably be able to do it, but we encourage you to try anyway! Their reaction in the morning is priceless! So, what’s the gist? Well, while your kids are sleeping, change their location. Put them in your bed, in the living room, and when they wake up pretend like everything is normal!

Do Our Feet Grow Faster Than Us?

Yet another way to confuse kids is to make them believe their feet are growing much faster than the other parts of their body. To do this, first, place a little bit of paper towel inside their shows. Then, when they wake up, make an “innocent” comment ”about their feet. “Oh wow, are your feet bigger? They look a little bigger to me, hmm…” Finally, ask them to come outside and watch their reaction when they realize their shoes feel tight! 

Frozen Cereal

Another classic April Fools Day prank for kids is to freeze their favorite breakfast cereal (not all of it, of course) and then serve it to them! While the cereal looks just fine, when they take a bite they’ll realize that everything’s wrong!

The Googly Eyes Prank

Make kids laugh by turning the objects they interact with the most into funny characters. The easiest way to do this is to buy different size googly eyes from Amazon – they’re around $5 for a pack of more than 500 pieces. Then, while the kids are sleeping, do your job and attach googly eyes to everything – their computer, glass of water, lunch box, their backpack, their notebook, and so on. On April Fools Day everything comes alive and looks goofy.

Bugs In the Breakfast Bowl

Make their heat race by convincing them for a moment that there’s a bug in their breakfast. To do this, call them to come to breakfast and prepare it in front of them. But, without them knowing, inset a fake bug inside the cereal box. Finally, hand it to them and watch their reaction when the bug falls in the bowl. 

Spilled Coffee

Another way to give kids a scare and teach them how to be more careful in the future is to make a fake spilled-glass. To do this, you need brownish paint (it can also be white), white glue, a coffee paper cup, and greaseproof paper. 

Begin by pouring glue and pain inside the cup – a little is enough. Mix until you get a nice brownish color – coffee color (you can also imitate milk and mix with white color). Then, place the greaseproof paper on a flat surface and knock the cup. The idea is for the cup to fall so the glue mix inside the cup spills on the paper to seem like a real coffee spill. Then, leave it like that for a couple of hours (maybe even a full day, depending on the glue thickness and temperature in the room) until it fully dries. Finally, when it’s dry, peel the paper off the “spill” and place the cup on your child’s computer. You’re going to give them quite the scare!

“Moldy” Sandwich”

Continuing the thread of making kids more careful and aware with witty April Fools Day pranks, next is this moldy sandwich idea. Simply, buy green food coloring and gently add a couple of drops on one side of your child’s sandwich. As the paint spreads a little bit, it will look like the bread began to mold. It would be really funny if kids realize it only after they begin eating it! Thrust us, they’ll never eat anything without checking again!

Blue Water?

Is it time for a bath? Or maybe brushing the teeth? Head over to the bathroom before your kid goes in there and with the help of a Q-tip, spread food coloring on the inside of the faucet. This way when the child turns the water on, it will come out in a green, blue, or another color.

Can Clothes Grow?

In the beginning of the article, we described how to confuse kids by convincing them that their feet grew! Another variation of this prank is to make them believe they’ve shrunken or that their clothes started to grow! Simply, change the clothes in their drawer with the ones of their older sibling or buy a new shirt larger than what he/she wears. When they try to dress, all of the clothes will be bigger!

Mobile Phone Name Swap

Finally, the last prank on our list is probably also the most sinister, although we’re encouraging this just for laughs! So, while your kids are not watching or they’re doing some chore around the house, take their phone and swap your name with one of their best friends. So, next time they write to their friend, they’ll actually be writing to you without realizing it, giving you an opportunity to tease them a little. However, don’t let it stretch for too long or they might think you were trying to violate their privacy! Keep it short and funny!

Before You Leave

We hope that you liked our April Fools Day pranks for kids list and you were able to find something to mark the day. 

If you’re looking for something more than just jokes, we just covered the history of April Fools Day and shared some fun facts about the holiday. What’s more, on our website, you’ll find a 19-page worksheet pack full of jokes, pranks, funny stories, printable playful materials, and so much more! Just follow the link and download the full bundle!
Also, let us remind you that we have more content coming up soon, so stay in touch through our newsletter and our blog!