101 Pranks For Kids On April Fool’s Day

April Fool's Day is a great day to have a ton of fun with your kids. Spending time with them may even get your mind off what your neighbor Dan will try to pull this year or the fact that your sister always gets you to think she’s engaged. You can turn up the ratchet on fun for you and your kids by trying these pranks for kids because we’re giving you 101 of them.

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What Is April Fool's Day?
Image Source: Pixabay.com Nobody really knows why we pull pranks on each other on the first of April. One theory is that it started way back in the 1500s when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar (the one we use now). Word traveled slow in those days so not everyone got the news by the time the new-fangled new year started—January 1st. Those who still used the outdated calendar celebrated the new year the last week of March through April 1st. They became the butt of many 16th century jokes and were known as fools. Another theory is that in spring, mother nature plays jokes on us with the crazy weather she hands down. We don’t know if it’ll be warm or cold, making us the fools. Whatever the reason, it’s a great day to let loose and play fun pranks on each other.

What Is April Fool's Day?

calendar block showing the date of April fools day

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Nobody really knows why we pull pranks on each other on the first of April. One theory is that it started way back in the 1500s when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar (the one we use now). Word traveled slow in those days so not everyone got the news by the time the new-fangled new year started—January 1st.

Those who still used the outdated calendar celebrated the new year the last week of March through April 1st. They became the butt of many 16th century jokes and were known as fools.

Another theory is that in spring, mother nature plays jokes on us with the crazy weather she hands down. We don’t know if it’ll be warm or cold, making us the fools. Whatever the reason, it’s a great day to let loose and play fun pranks on each other.

Pranks for Kids to Do
From an early age, kids should be taught that pranks and jokes can be fun and should be harmless. This is a great chance to teach them to read their audience. It’s important for your kids to know what pranks won’t go over well on someone else. Somebody may think a fake spider is hilarious and another person may be thrown into a panic attack. It’s also important that kids know the point of playing a prank on someone is to get them to laugh too. A prank should never be at someone else’s expense just to get a laugh and leave the other person feeling bad about the situation. It can be great fun and a great learning experience! Now, let’s have a little fun with the kiddos. Here are some of the best pranks for kids to play on someone else. Bathroom Pranks for Kids Have your kids draw a big bug on the top part of the TP so when the older kids or other parent goes to the bathroom they’ll get a scary surprise. Have your child paint clear nail polish on a dry bar of soap. Switch it out for the one in the shower. The person who tries to use it will get zero suds and it will drive them crazy. They can also put plastic wrap under the cap of the shampoo bottle to keep the shampoo from coming out. Have your kids put a helium balloon under the toilet seat when everyone is in bed or not looking. The next person to go to the bathroom will get a surprise when they lift the lid. Kitchen Pranks for Kids Get one of your kids up early and have them place googly eye stickers on everything in the fridge. This will get everyone laughing when it’s opened. Have your kids put frosting on a big sponge and present it to a visitor or other family members. Ask the other person to cut a piece and listen to the laughter. Have your kid put a rubber band around the kitchen sink spray nozzle. Somebody will get wet. Anywhere Pranks for Kids These are funny pranks you can get your kids to play on other family members and friends. Make sure you join in on their laughter when the other person gets pranked. Fill the toes of everyone’s shoes with a paper towel or tissue Set the digital clocks in the house forward so everyone thinks they’re late Have your kid put whipped cream in a family member’s hand and tickle their nose Let them put a big fake bug in a sibling’s shoe Tape a large sign on the back of a family member’s car that says “My family's playing a prank on me, please honk your horn”—this will drive them crazy Get one of your of kids to help you turn everything you can upside down in the living room Put Vaseline on the doorknob everyone uses to leave the house in the morning You kid will have a blast and look forward to April Fool's Day every year.

Pranks for Kids to Do

From an early age, kids should be taught that pranks and jokes can be fun and should be harmless. This is a great chance to teach them to read their audience. It’s important for your kids to know what pranks won’t go over well on someone else. Somebody may think a fake spider is hilarious and another person may be thrown into a panic attack.

It’s also important that kids know the point of playing a prank on someone is to get them to laugh too. A prank should never be at someone else’s expense just to get a laugh and leave the other person feeling bad about the situation. It can be great fun and a great learning experience!

Now, let’s have a little fun with the kiddos. Here are some of the best pranks for kids to play on someone else.

Bathroom Pranks for Kids

Have your kids draw a big bug on the top part of the TP so when the older kids or other parent goes to the bathroom they’ll get a scary surprise.

Have your child paint clear nail polish on a dry bar of soap. Switch it out for the one in the shower. The person who tries to use it will get zero suds and it will drive them crazy. They can also put plastic wrap under the cap of the shampoo bottle to keep the shampoo from coming out.

Have your kids put a helium balloon under the toilet seat when everyone is in bed or not looking. The next person to go to the bathroom will get a surprise when they lift the lid.

Kitchen Pranks for Kids

Get one of your kids up early and have them place googly eye stickers on everything in the fridge. This will get everyone laughing when it’s opened.

Have your kids put frosting on a big sponge and present it to a visitor or other family members. Ask the other person to cut a piece and listen to the laughter.

Have your kid put a rubber band around the kitchen sink spray nozzle. Somebody will get wet.

Anywhere Pranks for Kids

These are funny pranks you can get your kids to play on other family members and friends. Make sure you join in on their laughter when the other person gets pranked.

Fill the toes of everyone’s shoes with a paper towel or tissue
Set the digital clocks in the house forward so everyone thinks they’re late
Have your kid put whipped cream in a family member’s hand and tickle their nose
Let them put a big fake bug in a sibling’s shoe
Tape a large sign on the back of a family member’s car that says “My family's playing a prank on me, please honk your horn”—this will drive them crazy
Get one of your of kids to help you turn everything you can upside down in the living room
Put Vaseline on the doorknob everyone uses to leave the house in the morning

You kid will have a blast and look forward to April Fool's Day every year.

Pranks for Parents to Do on Kids
Of course, you want to play pranks on your kids. This is a perfect way to get them back—just a little—for the tantrums, the messy bathrooms, and the 3 am nightmares, but with love. So let's prank the little ones. Pranks for Kids Under 10 You want to go a little easier on the younger kids. They may not understand some pranks for kids that older children will find funny. Funny Foods This is a funny way to trick those young ones. End each one with a big “April Fool's Day!” Brownies”- Call everyone to the kitchen for a treat, then fill a plate with brown construction paper “E”s Hot fudge sundaes made with mashed potatoes and gravy with a cherry tomato on top—HA! Pour a bowl of cereal the night before and pop it in the freezer for April Fool's Day morning Serve meatloaf topped with mashed potatoes in cupcake liners for dinner Mix up their favorite cereal by switching the boxes they’re in Put a drop or two of food coloring in the milk the night before Add lemon juice to your child’s glass of water and check out their face when they drink it Poke pinprick holes in their plastic water bottle and when they pick it up, they’ll get a mini shower Classic Pranks for Kids Everybody loves a little spin on the classics. Let the good times roll. Is That… Poop? Come on, April Fools Day can get a little gross. Take an empty toilet paper roll and soak it in water. It will turn to brown mush. Mold it in the shape of… well, you know. Then leave it on the edge of the toilet seat. Let the shrieks begin. Mom’s Lost Her Mind Image Source: Pixabay.com Clean out a Windex bottle really well and fill it with water and blue food coloring. Make sure you’re in front of your family as you clean something. Spray a few squirts in your mouth. This will shock everyone! You can do this with an opaque bottle and water. Put a raisin in a sheet of paper towel. Make a big deal of needing to kill a fly in the room. Smack the counter and show your kids you “got it”. Look at it and pop it in your mouth. At bedtime, just as it’s light’s out, shout “Squirt gun attack” and let them have it. Be prepared to change their sheets if they get too wet from… whatever. Classic Pranks These are timeless classic pranks for kids to laugh at themselves or a ridiculous situation you’ve created. Put everyone’s clean underwear on a ceiling fan and have your kids turn it on Tell your kids they can have an extra dessert if they clean their rooms and when they’re done have someone mess it up before you go to check it with them Put black rice in their sheets or room for “mouse poop” Start a funny argument like, “No matter how much you beg, I will not let you skip dessert,” and keep it going as long as possible While your small kids are sleeping switch them into different beds Superglue coins to the sidewalk just outside your door Pranks for Teenagers Ok, the stakes are raised on these pranks for kids that have entered the dreaded teenage years. Let’s go to town. Loud Noises A little fright never hurt anyone. It’s always fun to see the momentary shock as a sudden loud noise hits them. It’s worth getting this on video if you can so they can laugh at their reaction too. Tape balloons to the door so they will pop when your teen opens it Do the same thing with an air horn Tape “pop it” crackers from the 4th of July to the toilet seat and gently put the seat down so when someone sits—POP! House Pranks After your teen leaves for the day, put a “for sale” sign in the front yard. They will come in a little panicked. Extra points for having put stuff in their room in a moving box. Remove all the electronics from their room and tell them there was a burglary. You can do this with jewelry or whatever they hold dear in their room. Buy a pack of fake hair that matches your teen’s hair. While they’re sleeping put cut up pieces on their pillow. They will freak out! While you’re at it, set several alarms and hide them around their room. Text your teen to hurry home because you got a puppy. When they get home, say you meant to say pepper and show them a green bell pepper. Clothing Teens love clothes so targeting this is a great way to prank them. Ask for a few bags from their favorite stores; they’ll give them to you for a prank. When your kids get home from school, tell them you felt like treating them to some new clothes they’ve been eyeing. Fill the bags with clothes they already have. Other fun pranks with their precious clothes: Image Source: Pixabay.com Run a needle and thread through all their underwear so when they pull one, all of them come out of the drawer Do the same thing with pairs of socks so they don’t come apart easily If your teen lays out what they will wear the night before, hide the outfit Turn all their clothes inside out Buy them underwear two sizes too big or too small and switch out their normal underwear Switch out their clothes with those of their sibling Button their button-up shirts all the way up in their closet Put love notes in every pocket of the clothes they will wear Electronics Is there anything your teenager love more than their electronics? No. No there isn’t, so let’s have fun with it. Let’s start with their precious phones. There are cracked screen stickers you can get. Put one on their phone and tell them you dropped it. Hide their phone in the fridge, bathroom cabinet, or in the pocket of a random coat in the coat closet and call it incessantly. If your teen calls you frequently, change your voicemail to “Hello? Hello? Honey, are you there? Hellooooo? Ha! April Fools!” Use clear packing tape on their laptop so they can’t open it. There are spilled liquid clings you can get to put on the keyboard of their laptop to freak them out. You can go into their phone settings and change certain words they text. Here’s how on the iPhone: Launch general settings Tap keyboard Tap text replacement Tap the + in the top right corner In the phrase field, type the entire phrase you want to appear In the shortcut field, type the word or words you want to be replaced by the new phrase Tap save at the top right This will drive them crazy and we love it. Ok, so what should you change? We have ideas: OMG” to “groovy” “Hey” to “Hello, this is (their name)” “I” to “me” “Dude” to “mister” “Stupid” to “smart” “No” to “yes” and vice versa “LOL” to “that’s not funny” Anything to its opposite: before to after, later to soon, can’t to can, yeah to nah, cool to yuck, etc Switch versions of they’re, their and there, or to, two and too “What are you doing?” to “I love my mom“ Drivers If your teens are driving, we’ve got great pranks for kids that drive. Try these: There are fake parking tickets you can print or buy and place on their windshield with expensive fines Place a sardine under the door handle of the driver’s side door Tape a note on the back of their car that says “I love my parents” Fill their car with balloons Wrap an open can of tuna in plastic wrap, poke holes in it and put it under the driver’s seat Put googly eye stickers on their rearview mirror Cover their car with hundreds of post-it notes Write “I love my parents” on their car with soap Print large photos of them when they were young and tape them all over their car School Pranks Teens have an image to uphold so it’s great to have a little fun with them while they’re in their element. Try not to embarrass them too much or you may get the wrath of their crazy teenaged hormones which can make these pranks for kids fall flat for you. If they have money in their purse or wallet, fill it with ones or coins Add a child’s coloring book and a pack of crayons to their backpack Add a toy doll or army men to their backpack Add ridiculous bookmarks to the school books Add a fake bug to their backpack or lunch bag Put love notes in each book that will fall out when they open it Switch the food in their lunch bag with candy or baby food. Add cash so they can buy something else Try to get all their friends and teachers to call them by another name for the day

Pranks for Parents to Do on Kids

Of course, you want to play pranks on your kids. This is a perfect way to get them back—just a little—for the tantrums, the messy bathrooms, and the 3 am nightmares, but with love. So let's prank the little ones.

Pranks for Kids Under 10

You want to go a little easier on the younger kids. They may not understand some pranks for kids that older children will find funny.

Funny Foods

This is a funny way to trick those young ones. End each one with a big “April Fool's Day!”

Brownies”- Call everyone to the kitchen for a treat, then fill a plate with brown construction paper “E”s
Hot fudge sundaes made with mashed potatoes and gravy with a cherry tomato on top—HA!
Pour a bowl of cereal the night before and pop it in the freezer for April Fool's Day morning
Serve meatloaf topped with mashed potatoes in cupcake liners for dinner
Mix up their favorite cereal by switching the boxes they’re in
Put a drop or two of food coloring in the milk the night before
Add lemon juice to your child’s glass of water and check out their face when they drink it
Poke pinprick holes in their plastic water bottle and when they pick it up, they’ll get a mini shower

Classic Pranks for Kids

Everybody loves a little spin on the classics. Let the good times roll.

Is That… Poop?

Come on, April Fools Day can get a little gross. Take an empty toilet paper roll and soak it in water. It will turn to brown mush. Mold it in the shape of… well, you know. Then leave it on the edge of the toilet seat. Let the shrieks begin.

Mom’s Lost Her Mind

water gun you can use on pranks for kids

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Clean out a Windex bottle really well and fill it with water and blue food coloring. Make sure you’re in front of your family as you clean something. Spray a few squirts in your mouth. This will shock everyone! You can do this with an opaque bottle and water.

Put a raisin in a sheet of paper towel. Make a big deal of needing to kill a fly in the room. Smack the counter and show your kids you “got it”. Look at it and pop it in your mouth.

At bedtime, just as it’s light’s out, shout “Squirt gun attack” and let them have it. Be prepared to change their sheets if they get too wet from… whatever.

Classic Pranks

These are timeless classic pranks for kids to laugh at themselves or a ridiculous situation you’ve created.

Put everyone’s clean underwear on a ceiling fan and have your kids turn it on
Tell your kids they can have an extra dessert if they clean their rooms and when they’re done have someone mess it up before you go to check it with them
Put black rice in their sheets or room for “mouse poop”
Start a funny argument like, “No matter how much you beg, I will not let you skip dessert,” and keep it going as long as possible
While your small kids are sleeping switch them into different beds
Superglue coins to the sidewalk just outside your door

Pranks for Teenagers

Ok, the stakes are raised on these pranks for kids that have entered the dreaded teenage years. Let’s go to town.

Loud Noises

A little fright never hurt anyone. It’s always fun to see the momentary shock as a sudden loud noise hits them. It’s worth getting this on video if you can so they can laugh at their reaction too.

Tape balloons to the door so they will pop when your teen opens it
Do the same thing with an air horn
Tape “pop it” crackers from the 4th of July to the toilet seat and gently put the seat down so when someone sits—POP!

House Pranks

After your teen leaves for the day, put a “for sale” sign in the front yard. They will come in a little panicked. Extra points for having put stuff in their room in a moving box.

Remove all the electronics from their room and tell them there was a burglary. You can do this with jewelry or whatever they hold dear in their room.

Buy a pack of fake hair that matches your teen’s hair. While they’re sleeping put cut up pieces on their pillow. They will freak out! While you’re at it, set several alarms and hide them around their room.

Text your teen to hurry home because you got a puppy. When they get home, say you meant to say pepper and show them a green bell pepper.

Clothing

Teens love clothes so targeting this is a great way to prank them. Ask for a few bags from their favorite stores; they’ll give them to you for a prank. When your kids get home from school, tell them you felt like treating them to some new clothes they’ve been eyeing. Fill the bags with clothes they already have.

Other fun pranks with their precious clothes:

thread and needle that you can use on one of the pranks for your kids

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Run a needle and thread through all their underwear so when they pull one, all of them come out of the drawer
Do the same thing with pairs of socks so they don’t come apart easily
If your teen lays out what they will wear the night before, hide the outfit
Turn all their clothes inside out
Buy them underwear two sizes too big or too small and switch out their normal underwear
Switch out their clothes with those of their sibling
Button their button-up shirts all the way up in their closet
Put love notes in every pocket of the clothes they will wear

Electronics

Is there anything your teenager love more than their electronics? No. No there isn’t, so let’s have fun with it. Let’s start with their precious phones. There are cracked screen stickers you can get. Put one on their phone and tell them you dropped it.

Hide their phone in the fridge, bathroom cabinet, or in the pocket of a random coat in the coat closet and call it incessantly. If your teen calls you frequently, change your voicemail to “Hello? Hello? Honey, are you there? Hellooooo? Ha! April Fools!”

Use clear packing tape on their laptop so they can’t open it. There are spilled liquid clings you can get to put on the keyboard of their laptop to freak them out.

You can go into their phone settings and change certain words they text. Here’s how on the iPhone:

Launch general settings
Tap keyboard
Tap text replacement
Tap the + in the top right corner
In the phrase field, type the entire phrase you want to appear
In the shortcut field, type the word or words you want to be replaced by the new phrase
Tap save at the top right

This will drive them crazy and we love it. Ok, so what should you change? We have ideas:

OMG” to “groovy”
“Hey” to “Hello, this is (their name)”
“I” to “me”
“Dude” to “mister”
“Stupid” to “smart”
“No” to “yes” and vice versa
“LOL” to “that’s not funny”
Anything to its opposite: before to after, later to soon, can’t to can, yeah to nah, cool to yuck, etc
Switch versions of they’re, their and there, or to, two and too
“What are you doing?” to “I love my mom“

Drivers

If your teens are driving, we’ve got great pranks for kids that drive. Try these:

There are fake parking tickets you can print or buy and place on their windshield with expensive fines
Place a sardine under the door handle of the driver’s side door
Tape a note on the back of their car that says “I love my parents”
Fill their car with balloons
Wrap an open can of tuna in plastic wrap, poke holes in it and put it under the driver’s seat
Put googly eye stickers on their rearview mirror
Cover their car with hundreds of post-it notes
Write “I love my parents” on their car with soap
Print large photos of them when they were young and tape them all over their car

School Pranks

Teens have an image to uphold so it’s great to have a little fun with them while they’re in their element. Try not to embarrass them too much or you may get the wrath of their crazy teenaged hormones which can make these pranks for kids fall flat for you.

If they have money in their purse or wallet, fill it with ones or coins
Add a child’s coloring book and a pack of crayons to their backpack
Add a toy doll or army men to their backpack
Add ridiculous bookmarks to the school books
Add a fake bug to their backpack or lunch bag
Put love notes in each book that will fall out when they open it
Switch the food in their lunch bag with candy or baby food. Add cash so they can buy something else
Try to get all their friends and teachers to call them by another name for the day

Conclusion
Image Source: Pixabay.com Pranks for kids are a fun way for the family to have a laugh or two—or ten—throughout the day by playing pranks on each other. You’re also teaching your kids to have a sense of humor about harmless and funny pranks. One of the best pranks to play on your kids is to keep telling them days in advance how excited you are for April Fools Day. Tell them you’ve been planning pranks all year. On the actual day, do nothing. They’ll be freaked out all day waiting for pranks. But let’s not limit it to the family. What if you turn some pranks for kids on your neighbors? You can have a good-natured laugh with fun-loving neighbors. These should only be played on neighbors you have a good relationship with—you don’t want to start a war. Leave a note on your neighbor’s car saying, “I’m sorry I hit your car” and watch them try to find the ding Put a sign in their yard that says “We have the best neighbors” with an arrow pointing at your house Put a “for sale” sign on their car with your number on it so they’ll call you and you can answer with “April Fool’s Day!” Call your neighbor at work and say, “I didn’t know you were moving;” when they ask what you’re talking about, say “Well, movers are moving all your stuff out” Spread fake cockroaches on their porch Put a for sale or for rent sign in their yard Put a “beware of dog” sign in their yard Toilet paper their trees but help them take it down Put a note on their door that says “Sorry we missed you, but we did what you asked” We’ve given you the ultimate pranks for kids list. Have fun and remember when you laugh the world laughs with you. Featured Image Source: Pixabay.com

Conclusion

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Pranks for kids are a fun way for the family to have a laugh or two—or ten—throughout the day by playing pranks on each other. You’re also teaching your kids to have a sense of humor about harmless and funny pranks.

One of the best pranks to play on your kids is to keep telling them days in advance how excited you are for April Fools Day. Tell them you’ve been planning pranks all year. On the actual day, do nothing. They’ll be freaked out all day waiting for pranks.

But let’s not limit it to the family.

What if you turn some pranks for kids on your neighbors? You can have a good-natured laugh with fun-loving neighbors. These should only be played on neighbors you have a good relationship with—you don’t want to start a war.

Leave a note on your neighbor’s car saying, “I’m sorry I hit your car” and watch them try to find the ding
Put a sign in their yard that says “We have the best neighbors” with an arrow pointing at your house
Put a “for sale” sign on their car with your number on it so they’ll call you and you can answer with “April Fool’s Day!”
Call your neighbor at work and say, “I didn’t know you were moving;” when they ask what you’re talking about, say “Well, movers are moving all your stuff out”
Spread fake cockroaches on their porch
Put a for sale or for rent sign in their yard
Put a “beware of dog” sign in their yard
Toilet paper their trees but help them take it down
Put a note on their door that says “Sorry we missed you, but we did what you asked”

We’ve given you the ultimate pranks for kids list. Have fun and remember when you laugh the world laughs with you.

Featured Image Source: Pixabay.com

101 Pranks For Kids On April Fool’s Day

What Is April Fool's Day?