April Fool’s Day is a day for pranks and jokes, and it can be great fun for children. However, sometimes pranks go a little too far, hurting children’s feelings. You don’t want to hurt your child inadvertently, so you should probably avoid tricking them in ways that are triggering. Every child has individual triggers, but these pranks are generally harmless for most kids.
Food Swap-Related Pranks
You should never mess up your child’s food to the point they can’t eat, but there are some great food-related pranks for kids. You can even get siblings in on the fun.
Brown Es
A classic prank is serving your family a plate of Brown Es. Cut brown Es out of construction paper or card stock. Place them on a plate covered in foil and offer your child a “brownie” for a snack. Of course, you will want to ensure you have a backup snack if it is snack time. You might even make a real pan of brownies together after your laugh.
Meatloaf Cake
Cake for dinner is every kid’s dream. Bake meatloaf in a round pan, frost it with mashed potato frosting, and decorate with peas or other veggies cut to resemble sweets. Tell the children that you made them a cake for dinner. When you slice into it, they will discover the cake is really just meatloaf and sides.
Get Bamboozled
Have you seen the Bamboozled Jellybeans? They are a silly take on traditional jellybeans. They look like regular jellybeans but have outrageous flavors. Instead of showing them the Bamboozled box, you can always just dump them in the candy dish for some fun tasting the flavors.
Fried Eggs and Fries
Like the meatloaf cake at dinner, breakfast can be nutritious and fun. Put some plain Vanilla Yogurt on a plate to resemble the fried egg whites. In the center, place half a peach cut side down (canned peaches work best here). On the side, slice fries out of apples and brush with cinnamon to resemble burn marks or cooking marks. These fried eggs will be delicious, nutritious, and fun for breakfast.
Non-Food Swap Related
Not everything has to revolve around food. Some children really do not like their food messed with, so you can use other methods. These are simple to execute and will result in some great fun.
Plant Donut Seeds
Get a variety of Cheerios and tell the children they are donut seeds. You might even have them “painted” with frosting to resemble donuts. You can even create a package on the printer if you choose. Have the kids plant the donut seeds and see if anything grows. The next day or weeks later, you could bring home donuts and tell them they grew them from seeds, but that takes a little more planning.
Growth Spurt
Swap out your child’s favorite clothes with similar clothes of a smaller size. See if you can convince them that they hit a massive growth spurt overnight. Couple this with a dinner the night before of super healthy foods and tell them it will help them grow big and strong. You can also convince them that eating their veggies is good for their muscles.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kid
You can go the opposite way, too, if you want. Buy identical clothes in bigger sizes. This way, you aren’t spending money on something that they will never use. Tell them that they shrunk overnight. This can also help if you have been telling them to eat their veggies and they refuse. Tell them they are shrinking because they won’t eat their broccoli. Of course, you never want to make them believe that for long, but it can be fun to see them thinking they shrunk.
The Itsy-Bitsy Spider
Put some fake bugs on the pillow next to your child just before waking. The bug will probably startle them, but it won’t do any permanent damage. You can also freeze them in ice cubes, tuck them in pockets, or put them in chairs for hilariousness all day long.
What Time is It?? !!
Set all the clocks forward two hours the night before. Wake them up as though they are two hours late for the bus or whatever is planned for the day. See how long it takes them to realize that it’s really whatever time you need to be up.
Change Their Password
For kids with phones or computers, changing their password to mom is the greatest or something silly. This works well if they have to get the WiFi password every day. Change it to something they will “hate” typing like “IHate(Favorite team)” or something similar. Make their phone password their enemy’s birthday or their most hated sports team’s name.
Here’s Looking at You Kid
Tape or glue googly eyes to the pencil case, folders, and notebooks in their book bags. Place a note in their lunchbox that says I see you. They will be looking at eyes all day. This should get a good chuckle.
Final Thoughts
These pranks are silly and straightforward and should bring about great laughs. Be sure to read your children’s moods before messing with their food or favorite things. What ideas do you have for playing pranks on the kids for April Fool’s Day?
