Would you rather questions for kids ages 5 to 9 work because they hand the kid a real decision to defend, in a format with no wrong answer. The best ones give two options a 5-year-old can picture and a 9-year-old can argue about.
Ask a 6-year-old how their day was and you get "Fine." Ask a 6-year-old "Would you rather have a pet dragon that eats your homework or a pet unicorn that only sings country music?" and you get a two-minute defense with sound effects.
That's the difference the ages 5 to 9 window makes. Kids that age will tell you what they think, if the question is worth thinking about. By 10 they start editing. By 12 most of it goes private.
Would you rather is one of the last question formats that still opens the door at this age. No test energy, no one-word answers. Pick a side. Tell me why.
The 200 below are calibrated for that window. Sorted across 10 categories, from easy warm-ups to bigger identity questions. Read a few at dinner. Save the wild ones for the car. Use one before bed when they are stalling.
How to Play
Ask one to three questions at a time, answer them yourself too, and follow every pick with "Why?"
There is no scoreboard. There is no winner. There is a question and what your kid does with it. Four things move the game from a quick pick to a real conversation.
Read the question with energy. Sell both options. The funnier or more thoughtful you make the question sound, the harder your kid will think about their answer. If you read "Would you rather" like a checklist, you will get a checklist answer.
Ask "Why?" after every pick. The choice is the setup. The defense is the actual game. A kid who picks the dragon over the unicorn has a reason. Get them to say it out loud. Follow with "What would happen next?" or "Tell me more about that" if the first answer is short.
Answer it yourself too. Kids engage much harder when it is a back-and-forth instead of a one-sided interview. Go second so they anchor, but commit to a real answer with a real reason. Model what a defended pick sounds like.
Let the tangent happen. If a question about pet dragons turns into a ten-minute conversation about whether dragons would prefer pizza or tacos, follow it. The question is a doorway. What is on the other side is what you came for.
TRY THIS
After the pick, ask "What would happen next?" A kid who picked the pet dragon has to defend feeding it, sleeping arrangements, whether it goes to school. The follow-up is where the imagination actually lives.
Which Would You Rather Questions to Use by Age
Match the question to the kid: short, concrete picks for 5 and 6-year-olds, sillier what-ifs for 7 and 8, and real tradeoffs by 9.
Ages 5 and 6. Start with Easy Warm-Ups, Animals and Food and Drinks. Both options should be things a kindergartner can picture right away. For a whole list at this level, see 100 Would You Rather Questions for Kindergartners.
Ages 7 and 8. Magic and Powers, Travel and Adventure and Just Plain Weird land best here. Kids this age love a ridiculous setup and will defend their pick at length.
Age 9. Try School and Friends, Family and Home and Tough Choices. These have real tradeoffs, and a 9-year-old's reasons start to sound like real opinions.
1. Easy Warm-Ups
Low-stakes openers you ask first to get kids talking without pressure.
Start here. These are low-stakes preference questions that get the game going without overthinking. They also tell you a lot about your kid in two seconds.
1. Would you rather have ice cream or chocolate cake for dessert?
2. Would you rather swim in a pool or in a lake?
3. Would you rather watch a movie or read a book?
4. Would you rather have a tall glass of lemonade or a hot mug of cocoa?
5. Would you rather wear pajamas all day or fancy clothes all day?
6. Would you rather draw with markers or paint with watercolors?
7. Would you rather go to the beach or go to the mountains?
8. Would you rather pet a puppy or pet a kitten?
9. Would you rather have pancakes or waffles for breakfast?
10. Would you rather build a sandcastle or build a snowman?
11. Would you rather play tag or play hide and seek?
12. Would you rather have summer all year or winter all year?
13. Would you rather wake up early or stay up late?
14. Would you rather go to the zoo or go to the aquarium?
15. Would you rather have a backyard pool or a backyard treehouse?
16. Would you rather get a present or give a present?
17. Would you rather see a rainbow or see a shooting star?
18. Would you rather have a long summer break or a long winter break?
19. Would you rather sing a song or dance to a song?
20. Would you rather be tall when you grow up or strong when you grow up?
2. Animals
Absurd animal-swap questions that unlock imagination and make everyone laugh.
Animals work because kids already love them. The trick is in the comparison. Big animal versus small. Wild versus tame. Real versus imaginary. The choice tells you something about which world your kid lives in.
21. Would you rather be a fish in the deep ocean or a bird in the highest sky?
22. Would you rather be a wolf in a pack or an eagle that flies alone?
23. Would you rather have a pet that lives 100 years, or a pet that can talk for just one day?
24. Would you rather understand every animal but only when they whisper, or only one animal but you can hear it from miles away?
25. Would you rather be the fastest animal on land or the fastest swimmer in the sea?
26. Would you rather raise a baby kangaroo in your pocket or a baby parrot on your shoulder?
27. Would you rather see a real living dinosaur in the wild, or meet a unicorn in a forest?
28. Would you rather have a horse that flies just for you, or a dog that can speak ten languages?
29. Would you rather train wild squirrels to bring you mail, or train friendly bees to make any flavor of honey?
30. Would you rather ride on the back of a whale once, or on the back of an elephant for a year?
31. Would you rather have a friendly tiger in your backyard, or a wise owl in your bedroom?
32. Would you rather camouflage like a chameleon or hop like a kangaroo?
33. Would you rather hibernate all winter like a bear, or migrate every season like a goose?
34. Would you rather have a pet that thinks it is a human, or be a human that everyone thinks is a pet?
35. Would you rather have a horse that only gallops sideways, or a giraffe that only walks in zigzags?
36. Would you rather meet a friendly Bigfoot or a real Loch Ness Monster?
37. Would you rather be a hummingbird for one day or a sea turtle for one day?
38. Would you rather train a dragonfly to deliver messages, or train a snail to win races?
39. Would you rather have a herd of tiny ponies the size of cats, or one giant cat the size of a horse?
40. Would you rather have a butterfly that lands on you when you are sad, or a frog that sings when you are happy?
3. Food and Drinks
Wildly specific food choices that get kids explaining their preferences out loud.
Food is its own conversation universe. Kids have strong food opinions and love defending them. Mix in a twist (a fountain of chocolate milk, a sandwich that changes flavor every bite) and you will be at the table ten minutes longer than usual.
41. Would you rather eat only foods that are red for a week, or only foods that are green?
42. Would you rather have a kitchen that only makes pasta, or a kitchen that only makes desserts?
43. Would you rather give up cheese forever or give up sugar forever?
44. Would you rather drink soup with a fork, or eat spaghetti with a spoon?
45. Would you rather only eat with chopsticks for a year, or only eat with your hands for a year?
46. Would you rather have breakfast for every meal, or dessert for every meal?
47. Would you rather invent a new ice cream flavor or a new pizza topping?
48. Would you rather only ever taste sweet things, or only ever taste salty things?
49. Would you rather pick fruit from a magic tree that grows whatever you imagine, or have a refrigerator that never runs out of snacks?
50. Would you rather eat a sandwich with no bread, or a hot dog with no bun?
51. Would you rather always eat dessert before dinner, or eat dinner twice?
52. Would you rather be a chef in a fancy restaurant, or own an ice cream truck?
53. Would you rather try every food in the world once, or only eat your top five favorite foods forever?
54. Would you rather drink milk through a licorice straw, or eat cereal with a cookie spoon?
55. Would you rather eat a meal upside down, or eat a meal blindfolded?
56. Would you rather grow a giant pumpkin in your backyard, or a giant strawberry on your windowsill?
57. Would you rather have a magical lunchbox that always packs your favorite lunch, or a thermos that always pours your favorite drink?
58. Would you rather eat one giant pancake the size of your bed, or 100 tiny pancakes the size of coins?
59. Would you rather discover a new fruit nobody has ever tasted, or invent a new vegetable that everyone loves?
60. Would you rather have a birthday cake every Tuesday, or a holiday meal every Sunday?
4. Magic and Powers
Fantasy-power tradeoffs that reveal what kids actually value.
Once magic opens, the answers get longer. Kids work out the rules. They check the loopholes. They argue about which power would actually be the best. Settle in.
61. Would you rather get three wishes from a friendly genie, or one wish from a wise dragon?
62. Would you rather make any plant grow with a touch, or stop any rain with a clap?
63. Would you rather find a key that opens any door once, or a map that shows where every treasure on earth is hidden?
64. Would you rather have a magic bookshelf that brings any book you imagine, or a magic toy box that contains any toy you wish for?
65. Would you rather have a cloak that makes you invisible for one hour a day, or boots that let you walk through walls for one minute a day?
66. Would you rather be able to talk to the moon every night, or talk to the sun every morning?
67. Would you rather have a flying broomstick, or a magic carpet?
68. Would you rather have a wand that turns vegetables into candy, or a wand that fixes broken toys?
69. Would you rather find a magical paint set that brings drawings to life, or a magical pen that makes any story come true?
70. Would you rather have a pet phoenix that bursts into harmless rainbow flames every birthday, or a pet dragon the size of a kitten?
71. Would you rather find a hidden door in your bedroom that leads to a magical world, or a tunnel in your backyard that leads to ancient treasure?
72. Would you rather be invisible whenever you wanted, or be able to fly?
73. Would you rather have super strength, or super speed?
74. Would you rather be able to read minds, or see the future?
75. Would you rather have laser vision, or freeze breath?
76. Would you rather stop time for one minute every day, or rewind time for ten seconds every hour?
77. Would you rather have stretchy arms that reach across a room, or bouncy feet that jump over a house?
78. Would you rather control fire safely, or control water safely?
79. Would you rather shrink to the size of a bug, or grow as tall as a house?
80. Would you rather walk on walls, or breathe underwater?
5. Travel and Adventure
Where-would-you-go choices that surface what kids are curious about.
The travel category opens up when kids start to think about places they have never been. Some kids will pick the safe option (camping in the backyard). Some will pick the wildest one (deep sea, outer space). Both answers are correct.
81. Would you rather visit every country in the world for one day each, or live in one country forever and explore every inch?
82. Would you rather take a hot air balloon ride over a city, or a submarine ride to the bottom of the ocean?
83. Would you rather go on a safari in Africa, or hike a glacier in Antarctica?
84. Would you rather travel to outer space for a day, or travel to the deep sea for a week?
85. Would you rather take a train across the entire country, or a road trip across the entire country?
86. Would you rather visit the top of the tallest mountain on Earth, or the bottom of the deepest cave?
87. Would you rather explore an ancient pyramid, or explore an underwater shipwreck?
88. Would you rather get lost in a giant hedge maze, or get lost in a giant library with thousands of rooms?
89. Would you rather ride a zip line across a canyon, or ride a roller coaster that loops three times?
90. Would you rather sleep in a treehouse for a week, or sleep in an igloo for a week?
91. Would you rather visit a place where it rains every day, or a place where the sun never goes down?
92. Would you rather travel back in time to meet your grandparents as kids, or forward in time to meet your grandkids?
93. Would you rather discover a hidden island, or discover a new planet?
94. Would you rather visit a magical forest where the trees can talk, or a magical desert where the sand can sing?
95. Would you rather go on an adventure where you solve riddles, or one where you find hidden treasures?
96. Would you rather be a pirate searching for treasure on a wooden ship, or an astronaut searching for stars on a rocket ship?
97. Would you rather take a road trip with your whole family for a month, or a vacation with just one friend for a week?
98. Would you rather visit a museum that lets you touch everything, or a zoo that lets you feed every animal?
99. Would you rather have a treasure map that leads to one giant chest of gold, or a map that leads to ten small chests with one different treasure each?
100. Would you rather choose your family's next vacation, or have your family surprise you with where you are going?
If a deck of conversation questions sounds easier than flipping through 200 in a list, that is what Tell Me Cards is. A 107-card conversation deck for kids ages 5 to 9, built on child psychology research. One card, one question, one moment at a time.
PARENT TIP
You go second, but commit to a real answer with a real reason. Kids read hedge answers instantly and disengage. "I would rather the invisibility one because I could figure out who was eating my snacks" beats "hmm, tough one" every time.
6. School and Friends
Playful social dilemmas that get kids talking about their real world.
The school category is where you find out who your kid is at school. Which teacher they secretly love. Which subject they actually want more of. Which friend they would build a fort with. The answers tell you their week.
101. Would you rather have a teacher who tells the best jokes, or a teacher who gives the best homework?
102. Would you rather be the funniest kid in your class, or the kindest?
103. Would you rather have a recess that lasts all day, or a snack break every hour?
104. Would you rather sit at the front of the classroom, or the back?
105. Would you rather pack your own lunch every day, or eat whatever the school cafeteria serves?
106. Would you rather have a best friend who is also your neighbor, or a best friend you only see at school?
107. Would you rather invite three friends to your birthday, or plan three different birthday parties for yourself?
108. Would you rather have a school day that starts at noon, or a school day that ends at noon?
109. Would you rather always know the answer but never raise your hand, or always raise your hand but sometimes get it wrong?
110. Would you rather have art class every day, or PE class every day?
111. Would you rather take a field trip to a science museum, or a field trip to a chocolate factory?
112. Would you rather have a friend who is your age, or a friend who is in a different grade?
113. Would you rather have a substitute teacher every day, or your same teacher for ten years?
114. Would you rather design your own classroom, or design the school playground?
115. Would you rather have homework every weekday but no homework on weekends, or no homework on weekdays but homework all weekend?
116. Would you rather be the teacher for a day, or the principal for a day?
117. Would you rather make a brand new friend every week, or have one best friend for your whole life?
118. Would you rather have a friend who is always making you laugh, or a friend who always listens to you?
119. Would you rather have your favorite teacher follow you up to every grade, or get a brand new teacher every year?
120. Would you rather skip a grade, or repeat a grade?
7. Family and Home
Home-life scenarios that reveal how kids think about family dynamics.
The family category sometimes turns into "Let me tell you all the things I would change about our house," which is genuinely useful information. Mostly though, it just gets kids dreaming about the version of home they would build if they were in charge.
121. Would you rather live in a giant treehouse, or in a castle with a moat?
122. Would you rather have a backyard with a swimming pool, or a backyard with a soccer field?
123. Would you rather have your own bedroom, or share a bedroom with your sibling forever?
124. Would you rather have ten cousins, or one really cool aunt?
125. Would you rather have a house with a slide instead of stairs, or a house with a fireman's pole?
126. Would you rather have a basement that is a movie theater, or an attic that is a game room?
127. Would you rather take a family vacation every year, or have a big family reunion every two years?
128. Would you rather plan your family's dinner one night a week, or plan your family's weekend once a month?
129. Would you rather live in a house made of cake (but you cannot eat it), or a house made of gummies (where you can eat one piece a day)?
130. Would you rather have your bedroom be on the roof, or have a hidden room behind your bookshelf?
131. Would you rather live next door to your best friend, or next door to a candy store?
132. Would you rather have a pet all your siblings share, or your own pet nobody else can touch?
133. Would you rather have a sandbox in your house, or a ball pit in your house?
134. Would you rather be the oldest kid in the family, or the youngest?
135. Would you rather have a family tradition you do every Friday, or one you do once a year?
136. Would you rather live somewhere it snows in the winter, or somewhere it never snows at all?
137. Would you rather have a window that looks out at a forest, or a window that looks out at an ocean?
138. Would you rather have a grandparent who teaches you to bake, or a grandparent who teaches you to build things?
139. Would you rather have a tiny house that is just yours, or a big house with your whole extended family?
140. Would you rather have a family game night every Friday, or a family movie night every Saturday?
8. Your Body and Senses
Body-and-sense swap questions that get kids thinking about how they experience the world.
This category goes weird fast. Kids will instantly tell you they would rather have eyes that change color than super speed. They have already made the choice. They just need someone to ask.
141. Would you rather have eyes that change color depending on your mood, or hair that grows three inches a day?
142. Would you rather have hands the size of dinner plates, or feet the size of skateboards?
143. Would you rather lose your sense of smell, or your sense of taste?
144. Would you rather have a really good memory, or a really good imagination?
145. Would you rather sleep for sixteen hours a day, or only sleep four hours and never feel tired?
146. Would you rather hold your breath for ten minutes, or run for ten miles without stopping?
147. Would you rather have hiccups for an hour, or sneezes for ten minutes?
148. Would you rather write with both hands at the same time, or read two books at once?
149. Would you rather have super flexible joints, or super strong muscles?
150. Would you rather be ticklish everywhere, or never ticklish at all?
151. Would you rather have teeth that glow in the dark, or fingernails that change color every day?
152. Would you rather always have a perfect haircut, or always wear shoes that are perfectly comfortable?
153. Would you rather see colors that nobody else can see, or hear sounds nobody else can hear?
154. Would you rather always know exactly what time it is without a clock, or always know exactly where north is?
155. Would you rather have eyelashes long enough to braid, or curls so long they reach your toes?
156. Would you rather have a voice that sounds like a singer's, or a voice that sounds like your favorite cartoon character?
157. Would you rather have a yawn that is contagious to everyone, or a laugh that is contagious to everyone?
158. Would you rather have a heart that glows when you are nervous, or one that hums a tune when you are calm?
159. Would you rather lose your sense of touch on your fingertips, or on your toes?
160. Would you rather have arms long enough to reach the ceiling, or legs long enough to step over a car?
9. Tough Choices
Bigger tradeoffs with real stakes for kids ready to defend real positions.
These questions are still playful but a little harder. They are the ones where kids actually pause. They take a breath. They give an answer that tells you something real about who they are becoming. Don't rush past these.
161. Would you rather be famous all over the world, or have one true best friend forever?
162. Would you rather be the smartest kid in your class, or the funniest?
163. Would you rather always know what other people are thinking, or have them always know what you are thinking?
164. Would you rather be really good at one thing forever, or pretty good at every single thing?
165. Would you rather win every game you ever played, or lose sometimes but learn something every time?
166. Would you rather be the leader of a group, or the helper who makes the leader's job easier?
167. Would you rather get a brand new toy every week, or share your favorite toy with friends every day?
168. Would you rather always tell the truth even when it is hard, or always tell a kind lie when it would protect someone?
169. Would you rather always know the right answer, or always know how to find the right answer?
170. Would you rather be the smartest, the strongest, or the kindest?
171. Would you rather be good at making people laugh, or good at making people feel safe?
172. Would you rather have a special talent everyone notices, or a quiet talent only you know about?
173. Would you rather be remembered for one really brave thing you did, or for being someone who was kind every day?
174. Would you rather be the kid that everyone wants to sit next to, or the kid who always notices when someone needs a friend?
175. Would you rather give your favorite toy to someone who really needs it, or share your favorite snack with someone who is hungry?
176. Would you rather solve a really hard puzzle yourself, or solve it with a team?
177. Would you rather be loved by your pet, or respected by your sibling?
178. Would you rather always know how to fix a problem, or always know how to comfort someone with a problem?
179. Would you rather be brave for yourself, or be brave for a friend?
180. Would you rather have a year of perfect adventures, or a year of perfect peace?
10. Just Plain Weird
Wildly silly questions where anything goes, the ones kids will still be talking about at recess tomorrow.
Some kids will pick the yuckiest option every time. Some will genuinely struggle. Both are entertaining. Save this section for when the game is losing steam. A good weird question will restart it every time.
181. Would you rather have hair made of spaghetti or fingers made of hot dogs?
182. Would you rather swim in a pool of gravy or a pool of ketchup?
183. Would you rather have a nose that grows an inch every time you lie, or ears that flap like wings every time you tell the truth?
184. Would you rather have grass growing where your hair should be, or a carrot growing where your nose should be?
185. Would you rather burp bubbles every time you burp, or sneeze confetti every time you sneeze?
186. Would you rather lick a wet garden hose, or hug a slug the size of your leg?
187. Would you rather have elbows that squeak every time you bend them, or knees that beep every time you walk?
188. Would you rather have a tongue as long as your arm, or teeth the size of ice cubes?
189. Would you rather eat a spoonful of dirt that tastes like chocolate, or a spoonful of chocolate that tastes like dirt?
190. Would you rather have skin that turns purple when you are excited, or hair that stands straight up when you are surprised?
191. Would you rather have feet that squelch like sponges every step, or hands that stick to everything you touch for five minutes?
192. Would you rather have a pet worm the size of a puppy, or a pet spider the size of a dinner plate?
193. Would you rather brush your teeth with jelly, or wash your hair with cheese?
194. Would you rather smell like broccoli forever, or taste every food like broccoli forever?
195. Would you rather have hiccups that sound like a rooster crowing, or burps that smell like flowers?
196. Would you rather step in a puddle that is ankle-deep in mud, or ankle-deep in melted marshmallow?
197. Would you rather have a mustache made of bees (that do not sting), or a beard made of butterflies?
198. Would you rather understand exactly what pigeons are complaining about, or exactly what whales are singing to each other?
199. Would you rather find a worm in your apple, or a hair in your soup?
200. Would you rather have a laugh that sounds like a donkey, or a sneeze that sounds like a car horn?
The Habit, Not the Game
This list has 200 questions, more than any one family will get through in order. That is the point. This is not a checklist. It is a permanent set of doors you can open whenever the conversation needs one.
The would-you-rather habit is small. One question on the drive home. One at dinner. One at bedtime when they are stalling. Over a year, that is hundreds of small moments where your kid had to pick a side, defend it, and listen to yours. That is not a game. That is how a kid learns to think out loud.
If you want these on physical cards (so the question is already picked for you and you can stop scrolling through a 200-question list), Tell Me Cards is the conversation deck for kids ages 5 to 9, built on child psychology research.
WORTH KNOWING
Would-you-rather works better in the car than at the dinner table. Kids ages 5 to 9 open up more when they are not being watched, and the passing scenery gives their brain somewhere to look while they think.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are good would you rather questions for kids?
Good would you rather questions for kids give two options a child can picture right away and a reason to defend the pick, like "Would you rather have ice cream or chocolate cake for dessert?" for a 5-year-old, or a real tradeoff from the Tough Choices section for a 9-year-old. The 200 questions above are sorted into 10 categories so you can pick by age and mood.
What age is best for would you rather questions?
The questions in the list above are calibrated for kids ages 5 to 9. Younger kids do best with the Easy Warm-Ups category (short options, no back-story required). Older kids can handle the Tough Choices and Just Plain Weird categories, where they will happily defend the weirdest pick with a full three-minute argument. If you are playing with a mixed-age group, start in Easy Warm-Ups and let the older kids naturally push toward longer defenses of their picks.
How do you play would you rather with kids?
Read the question aloud with real energy. Sell both options like each one might actually happen. Then pick your own answer too, and go second. The game only works if the adult commits to a real answer. That signals to the kid that this is a conversation, not a test. Let the answer turn into a tangent. The tangent is where the good stuff lives.
How many would you rather questions should you ask in one sitting?
One to three is the sweet spot for kids ages 5 to 9: one to kick things off, one in the middle, one at the end if the conversation is still going. Five in a row turns the game into a quiz and the answers get shorter. Stop while they still want more.
What if my kid cannot pick between the two options?
Ask them to invent a third option that combines the two. Half the fun of would-you-rather is the loophole. A kid who says "I want both" is telling you they have already thought harder about the question than you expected. Let them explain the hybrid.
Are would you rather questions good for shy kids?
Yes. The two-option structure is one of the lowest-pressure conversation formats there is. There is no wrong answer, no personal disclosure required, and the follow-up "Why?" gives the kid a soft way to talk about themselves through the choice rather than about themselves directly.
Can adults play would you rather too?
Yes, and that is often when it works best for the kid. When both people answer, the kid gets a model for what a real answer sounds like and how a defense works. It also turns the game from an interview into a conversation, which is the actual goal.
What is the difference between would you rather and this or that?
Would you rather leans imaginative and hypothetical (things that could not happen or would only happen with magic). This or that leans preference-based (real things kids already like or dislike). Both formats teach kids to defend a choice, but would-you-rather tends to produce longer, more inventive answers. See our This or That Questions for Kids post for the other side of that two-choice format.
For questions built only for laughs, see 100 Funny Would You Rather Questions for Kids. For a wilder, sillier set of would-you-rather prompts, see 100 Silly Would You Rather Questions for Kids. For a shorter list calibrated to younger kids, see 100 Would You Rather Questions for Kindergartners. For the broader list of conversation prompts across ages 5 to 9, our 200 Questions to Ask Kids post covers the full range.
For the holidays, see 75 Thanksgiving Would You Rather Questions for Kids (Ages 5 to 9), and for quicker picks at the table, 75 Thanksgiving This or That Questions for Kids (Ages 5 to 9).