Personally, I don’t see the humor in having my kid take a whoopee cushion to school and placing it on her teacher’s chair. In fact, I can almost guarantee that no one will be laughing after she gets caught and is potentially suspended for trying to prank a teacher on April Fool’s Day.
So, thanks, but no thanks on that idea.
Really, a big thank you to all the loyal Families.com readers who emailed me kid-friendly April Fool’s jokes. I really appreciate your response to my request. I was sent several links that have proven quite successful, though the real test will come on April 1st when my daughter tries to execute some of the more benign pranks.
In the meantime, I thought I would share some simple tricks that parents could easily play on kids of all ages in the spirit of April Fool’s foolery:
Colored Food: Some readers suggested dying entire meals, such as green eggs and green ham. Or nonchalantly serving kids blue milk made from a couple of drops of food coloring.
The Big Swap: Start the day with a few smiles by mixing up your kids favorite cereals. Take out the bag from one cereal box and replace it with a bag from another cereal and see how long it takes everyone to figure out which belongs to which.
Birthday Surprise: While your kids are asleep decorate the house with streamers, balloons and a big “Happy Birthday!” banner. This is meant to be a prank for kids whose birthdays don’t fall on April Fool’s Day.
Rearrange: While your kids are at school move the furniture around or flip posters or other wall art upside down. Another idea for kids 10 and under is to switch beds in the middle of the night. Wait until your kids are asleep, and then carry them into another child’s bed and vice versa. Just make sure your child is a heavy sleeper or the prank won’t be nearly as successful.
For older kids, consider stuffing their shoes part way with tissue or toilet paper and watch their reaction when they can’t get their foot all the way in. Or, for a teen who is obsessed with checking his email, put a piece of tape over the tracking ball on a computer mouse and see how long it takes him to figure out that the joke’s on him.
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