Kids laugh at April Fool's jokes

Kid-Friendly & Safe April Fool Pranks

Parents, discover some physician-approved pranks to play on your kids this April Fool’s Day

April Fool’s Day is around the corner, and there is a way for everyone to get in on the laughs. Below is a list of harmless pranks for parents to pull on their kids this year – approved by your local physician!

It’s easy to think of April Fool’s Day as a time of jokes where nothing can go wrong. However, hundreds of kids are sent to the hospital yearly due to accidents from April Fool pranks. Ensure the jokes you play on your children are safe and will add to the funny nature of April Fool’s Day.

Kid-Friendly and Safe April Fool’s Day Pranks

1. The Googly Eyes

Stick googly eyes or use edible sugar eyes on all your kid’s fruits or favorite lunchtime snacks so when your kids go to collect their treats, they will laugh with two eyes staring back at them.

2. The Brown Es

Call your kids inside from playing with their neighborhood friends and tell them you made them a pan of brownies. When they enter the kitchen, they will find a pan of brown construction paper “E”s in the pan. This is sure to cause a laugh, but to soften the hurt from no chocolate snacks, have a pan of real brownies ready to eat after the joke has been seen.

3. The Juice Cup

Fill your child’s juice cup with gelatin and a straw and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. When they drink their cup of juice in the morning, they will be in for a funny surprise – nothing will come out. Have a spoon ready for them to eat the gelatin after the joke is over.

4. The Bug Takeover

Put fake or plastic bugs in your child’s drink or food at dinnertime. This is guaranteed to cause a jump scare. It is important to use plastic bugs that look fake, maybe a bright color like the orange Halloween spiders, to avoid causing too much terror.

It is important to note that the toys should be larger than the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines for small toys to prevent choking. The small toys your children play with should be too large to fit inside a choke test cylinder or no-choke testing tube, which measures 1 1/4 inches wide by 2 1/4 inches long, such as Lego building blocks, dice, beads, etc.

5. The Traditional Whoopee Cushion

We all know the traditional whoopee cushion prank! Grab some whoopee cushions, fill them up, and put them on your child’s favorite seat. Watch them bust out in laughter once they hear the series of noises.

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Disclaimer: As a service to our readers, Kyle ER & Hospital and Nutex Health state no content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinicians.