54 Epic Dares for Kids | Rediscovered Families

Need some really good dares for kids? Today, we’ve got 54 epic ideas to share. These are not lists of play activities.

Our dares for kids are fun and silly, and they all have an element of risk. They are daring enough to get kids excited but safe enough to please the most cautious parents.

Get ready to see your child’s face light up with excitement. You are about to give them an experience that they will never forget?

three mischievous kids playing dares — Credit: Photo by depositphotos.com

The Challenges of Finding Good Dares For Kids

Skip this section and jump straight to the dares

Dares were a big part of my childhood. I remember the thrill of issuing dares to my friends and screwing up my courage to follow through on my friend’s challenges to me.

In light of this, I thought creating a list of fun dares for kids would be a fun thing to do. Daring your kids is a great family activity and can help create some fantastic memories. A lot of bonding happens over the shared dares, particularly the goofier ones.

In preparation for this post, I read through hundreds of dares for kids. However, there was a big problem. Most of them were totally lame. In fact, I couldn’t believe what passed as a dare. Here are a few examples I cut and pasted directly from other posts.

“You have to make the best fort ever. And for that, you can use only the objects that you get in the house.”
“Fold an origami frog.”
“Use toys to make the tallest tower possible.”

What? How are those dares?

They are play activities, which is fine. However, a play activity is very different from a dare!

But suggestion after suggestion was along the same lines. In light of this strange phenomenon, I decided to start by defining the word dare, so you know what I mean when I say “dare.”

What Is A Dare?

The Cambridge dictionary defines the word dare as “to ask someone to do something that involves risk.”

The risk part is the key to a good dare. The thrill of the risk makes them fun, which is why kids love them.

It could be a physical risk (those are the dares that often make parents quail).

It is also the risk of embarrassing yourself in public for doing something silly. A dare MUST contain a perceived risk of some kind. Otherwise, it is not really a dare.

I mean no disrespect, but there is nothing risky about folding an origami frog or building a tall tower with things from your house. These ideas are great play activities, but they are not dares!

This short clip from The Christmas Story shows the essence of childhood dares.

The problem is that we really don’t want our kids getting their tongues stuck to a frozen pole!

Daring kids to do something is a great way to get them pumped up, but we also need it to be safe. And that’s the challenge, right?

Our list of dares provides that perfect balance of thrill and safety. They are risky enough to give the rush but not dangerous enough for kids to get hurt.

These ideas are drawn from my many years of working with children. I also asked my brother and niece for suggestions.

This duo has taken the art of dares to an epic level, and I knew they would come up with some great dares for kids. They did not disappoint. Check their suggestions here.

So, without further ado, here are 55 dares for kids that will actually get your kids excited.

Quick and Easy Dares For Kids

These first selection of dares for kids are quick and easy. They don’t require special equipment or setup, so they are perfect for spur-of-the-moment fun.

These are ideal when you have a group of kids with some time to kill. They are also a good way of introducing dares to younger kids as none of them are too scary.

You can make it fun by hamming it up and presenting the challenge as if it is the most daring thing in the world.

Get in the shower (or lie in a wading pool) with your clothes on.
Kiss a window overlooking the front yard- make it last at least to the count of five.
Go into the front yard and sing a song (chosen by friends/family) at the top of your voice.
Go into the front yard and act like you are worshipping the sun.
Knock on the neighbor’s door and ask if you can borrow a square of toilet paper
Pour a bowl of ice cubes down your shirt (with your shirt tucked in)
Call a friend/family member and sing “Happy Birthday” (make sure it’s not actually their birthday)
Draw a portrait of someone with your non-dominant hand. Then present it to that person as a “serious” gift. You need to keep a straight face.
Smell everyone’s shoes/feet and declare the winner of the smelliest feet.

Food Dares

The next section of our list is made up of dares that involve food. Dares involving food are always popular with kids.

They usually involve funky-tasting food (from a kid’s point of view) and result in screwed-up faces.

Don’t forget that kids’ imaginations will fill in details. All you need is a small jar of green baby food (peas) and the suggestion that it is a jar of snot. Your child’s mind will fill in the rest!

Some of these dares are pretty messy, so make sure you have some old towels or clothes to hand. And if you are a kid and you are at someone else’s house, make sure you check with the parents first.

Drink pickle juice
Let someone crack an egg over your head.
Stand still and let someone push a pie plate full of pudding or whipped cream in your face.
Eat a spoonful of mustard or hot sauce.
Drink from a mystery concoction your evil family makes for you.
Eat (blindfolded) a mystery food your family gives you.
Blindfold a friend or sibling and let them feed you pudding.
Eat a hot pepper ( Drinking milk afterward will stop the burn. The milk protein casein binds to the spicy capsaicin and washes it away.)
Eat a spoonful of minced garlic.
Place ten gummy worms at the bottom of a pie tin and completely cover them with whipped topping. Dare your child to grab all the worms with their mouth. No hands allowed!
Brush your teeth with ketchup.
Dare kids to eat from a jar of snot (baby food- peas)
Do you dare to eat frog spawn (tapioca)?
Dare kids to eat ice cream topped with something inappropriate such as ketchup or relish.
Or make a dill pickle ice cream sundae with a disgusting topping of your choice!

Fear Factor Dares

These dares were part of a fear factor party I ran for some tweens at the public library. It was a hilariously fun afternoon. Many of these dares for kids require some preparation, but they are well worth the effort. You are going to need your camera!

Find a can of cat food and flaked tuna fish that are the same size. Carefully peel off the labels and swap them. Dare the kids to eat from the can that is now marked cat food.
Dare kids to blow up a balloon until it bursts. Confession-I can’t bring myself to do this one!
Place a bowl filled with boiled eggs in front of your kids. Make sure you have one egg per child. Tell them one of the eggs is raw. Dare them to choose an egg and, on the count of three, crack it down on top of their heads. Up the ante by making sure one of the eggs is raw!
Buy some edible bugs and dare your kids to eat them. Crunchy grasshoppers or chocolate-dipped superworms, anyone?
Gather 6 food items such as ketchup, mustard, relish, chocolate syrup, baby foods, and olives. Label them from 1-6. Have kids throw 3 dice, and the numbers they throw determine the ingredients in their concoction. Mix up a good spoonful of each ingredient and dare them to eat it.
Clean a dog dish ahead of time, then smear something on it to make it look as if it isn’t clean. Now dare your kids to eat something out of the dish. Even better, mash up something like spam and put it in the dish. Dog food, anyone?

Dares For Kids To Do In Public

We’re upping the risk level now. These next dares for kids are done in public places. They are all ridiculous and will create fantastic memories.

Wear underwear on your head and go shopping.
Get down on one knee and propose to an inanimate object chosen by the group. You must do this in a public place.
Turn your clothes inside out and go shopping.
Put your clothes on backward and go shopping.
Let your friends/family choose your outfit and style your hair- then go out in public.
Go outside and yell whatever the group decides for you to the first person you see. “I pick my nose” is a favorite.
End each sentence with a crazy phrase (chosen by the group) and then ask for help in a store.
Talk to an object (chosen randomly by friends) as though it’s your friend.
Perform a popular song in public using a hairbrush as a microphone.
In the middle of summer, dress in winter gear, go outside, and wave at passing cars.
Pick a flower in the yard and give it to a passerby, saying, “I got this for you.”
Do a favorite Tik-Tok type of dance in a public place chosen by the group.
Wear socks on your hands, pants instead of a shirt, and a sweater instead of pants. Now walk around the block.
Knock on a neighbor’s door and say thank you for no reason.
Go into a bakery and ask if they use cruelty-free wheat in their goods.

Another fun Family activity is to have a dance party. Click here to get the best list of dance songs.

A Family Tradition of Dares

This last set of dares comes from my brother and his oldest daughter. It all came about because my niece hated shopping with a passion. To make the inevitable shopping trips more fun, my brother suggested playing dares while they were out shopping. A new family tradition was born. Here are their favorites.

Taking Dares To The Next Level

These dares are best for tweens and teens.

Choose an item of clothing (as silly as you like) for the other person to try on. The other person must remain completely serious!
Create a silly walk and use it for the entire time you are in a store.
Go into a store that only sells particular goods, such as a shoe store, and ask for something that doesn’t fall into that category. “Do you sell books?”
Find a group of people and stand next to them (pretend to be browsing). Act as if you’ve had a call and answer the phone. Create the most bizarre one-sided conversation you can manage (turn up the volume of your voice). Then watch as the public exchange various looks. (Double points if one of the strangers laughs.)
Choose a silly voice and use it when shopping! Perhaps you’re brave enough to ask an employee a question or just have a silly-sounding (but serious) conversation with the person you’re playing dares with.
Approach a store employee and ask a question. At the end of every sentence, trail off into silence or a series of mumbles.
Ask a stranger to take a picture or video of you on your phone to send to your family. They’ll expect something ordinary, but the dare is to do the opposite. Go nuts, lash out with some dad dancing, or pull a funny face!
Look up and point at the ceiling/sky for 4 minutes. See how many other people look up!
Find a baby shoe and ask an employee whether they have it in your size!
Choose a store and ask for help with a purchase, but start each sentence by making a loud honking sound.

In case you are unfamiliar with the ministry of funny walks, we present the original skit from Monty Python. Hopefully, it will provide some inspiration.

Things to Remember When creating Dares for Kids

Dares for kids are supposed to be fun even though they will contain some risks. Most of that risk is perceived, so all of our dares are very safe. Still, there are few ground rules.

Keep the dares age appropriate.
The most popular dares tend to be the goofiest ones. Keep them creative and exciting.
No one should ever be forced to do a dare or mocked if they refuse.
Learn the art of creating perceived risk -a risk that feels exciting because it is different but doesn’t risk life and limb. Such as showering with your clothes on! Present it as something that is usually forbidden, and it will immediately seem thrilling.

So, are you ready to get daring? Which of our epic dares will you try first? These dares for kids will have them excited to take on a new challenge (or two).

And remember, safety first – these activities are meant to be fun and exciting, but always take precautions and use common sense when playing any game.

Head over to our Family Games page for more ideas that will get everyone laughing together.

You’ll find even more fun on our Indoor Activities page. It’s perfect for rainy days and slow afternoons.

If you want to browse everything in one place, our Kids Activities page where you’ll find hundreds of fun ideas all in one place.