180 This or That Questions for Kids

These 180 this or that questions for kids take two seconds to answer and use words a 5-year-old knows. Ask your kids in the car or at breakfast, or use them for a morning meeting in class. For older kids and grown-ups, the main list of this or that questions has more.

Updated By the Carful editorial team

On this page: 10 sections

Fast like a cheetah or strong like a gorilla?

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Animal This or That Questions for Kids

Which animal to be, which pet to keep and which stripes look better. Every kid has an opinion.

  1. Fast like a cheetah or strong like a gorilla?
  2. Zebra stripes or leopard spots?
  3. Farm animals or zoo animals?
  4. Milk a cow or collect chicken eggs?
  5. A long neck like a giraffe or a long trunk like an elephant?
  6. A pet hedgehog or a pet bunny?
  7. Animals with fur or animals with feathers?
  8. Pet names: funny or fancy?
  9. Pandas or red pandas?
  10. Sleep all winter like a bear or nap all day like a cat?
  11. Frogs or lizards?
  12. Petting zoo or butterfly garden?
  13. A fluffy tail like a fox or a curly tail like a pig?
  14. Ladybugs or dragonflies?
  15. Animal home: a cozy burrow or a hollow tree?
  16. A pet that purrs or a pet that chirps?
  17. Bird watching or bug hunting?
  18. Watch tadpoles turn into frogs or caterpillars turn into butterflies?
  19. Seals or sea otters?
  20. Wake up to a rooster or wake up to singing birds?
  21. Change colors like a chameleon or light up like a firefly?
  22. Feed the ducks or hold a baby chick?
  23. Squirrels or chipmunks?
  24. Hummingbirds or woodpeckers?
  25. Lions or tigers?
  26. Pony ride or camel ride?
  27. Walk a dog or brush a horse?
  28. Busy like a beaver or slow like a sloth?
  29. Seahorses or pufferfish?
  30. Parrots or peacocks?
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Food This or That Questions for Kids

Lunchbox picks, breakfast debates and the great sandwich-crust question.

  1. Sandwich crusts: on or off?
  2. Juice box or milk carton?
  3. Sandwiches: cut in triangles or squares?
  4. French toast sticks or a breakfast sandwich?
  5. Cupcakes: icing first or cake first?
  6. Cherry tomatoes or cucumber slices?
  7. Ice cream: lick it or bite it?
  8. Bananas: a little green or extra spotty?
  9. Ice pops or snow cones?
  10. Chicken nuggets or fish sticks?
  11. Peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese?
  12. Food on your plate: touching or not touching?
  13. Apples with caramel dip or carrots with ranch?
  14. String cheese or a yogurt cup?
  15. Broccoli or green beans?
  16. Noodles: buttered or with red sauce?
  17. Spaghetti: twirl it or slurp it?
  18. Sandwich cookies: twist them open or bite them whole?
  19. Fruit salad or fruit kabobs?
  20. Mangoes or peaches?
  21. Tacos: hard shell or soft shell?
  22. Rainbow sprinkles or chocolate sprinkles?
  23. Oatmeal or cold cereal?
  24. Cereal: crunchy or a little soggy?
  25. Chocolate milk or strawberry milk?
  26. Trail mix or a granola bar?
  27. Pancakes: syrup or powdered sugar?
  28. Corn dogs or pigs in a blanket?
  29. A note in your lunchbox or a surprise treat?
  30. Chopsticks or a fork?
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This or That Questions for Kids at School

Recess, reading corners and classroom jobs. Teachers use these for a two-minute morning warm-up.

  1. Four square or tetherball?
  2. Library time or computer time?
  3. Crayons or markers?
  4. Lunch first or recess first?
  5. Water the class plants or feed the class fish?
  6. Show and tell or story time?
  7. Glue stick or glue bottle?
  8. Kickball or jump rope?
  9. Backpack: lots of pockets or one big pocket?
  10. Chapter books or picture books?
  11. Pass out papers or wipe the whiteboard?
  12. Sit on the carpet or sit at a table?
  13. Field trip: a bakery or a nature center?
  14. Parachute games or relay races?
  15. Stickers or stamps on your homework?
  16. Group project or solo project?
  17. Read to yourself or listen to the teacher read?
  18. Ride the bus or walk to school?
  19. Math with blocks or math on paper?
  20. Spirit day: twin day or backward day?
  21. Write a poem or write a story?
  22. Morning meeting: share news or play a game?
  23. Whiteboard or chalkboard?
  24. Field day: sack race or three-legged race?
  25. Study bugs or study the weather?
  26. Book fair or science fair?
  27. New school shoes or a new pencil case?
  28. Homework right after school or homework after a break?
  29. Learn cursive or learn to type?
  30. Fun fact of the day or joke of the day?
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Fun This or That Questions for Kids

Toys, playgrounds, pretend play and backyard games.

  1. Couch cushion fort or cardboard box fort?
  2. Stuffed animals or action figures?
  3. Hopscotch or sidewalk chalk art?
  4. Hide-and-seek: hider or seeker?
  5. Toy cars or toy trains?
  6. Play restaurant or play store?
  7. Monkey bars or the twisty slide?
  8. Marble run or domino chain?
  9. Glitter glue or googly eyes?
  10. Freeze tag or red light, green light?
  11. Paper airplanes or paper boats?
  12. Board games: roll the dice or spin the spinner?
  13. Merry-go-round or seesaw?
  14. Play vet or play teacher?
  15. Dig in the dirt or climb a tree?
  16. Musical chairs or hot potato?
  17. Sprinkler or kiddie pool?
  18. Yo-yo or spinning top?
  19. Soccer or basketball?
  20. Wagon ride or wheelbarrow ride?
  21. Follow the leader or duck, duck, goose?
  22. Crab walk or bear crawl?
  23. Rock collecting or leaf collecting?
  24. Make mud pies or go on a worm hunt?
  25. Toy robot or toy dinosaur?
  26. Play in the rain or play in the snow?
  27. Leapfrog or piggyback rides?
  28. Tea party or teddy bear picnic?
  29. Freeze dance or limbo?
  30. Toy kitchen or toy workbench?
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Easy This or That Questions for Preschool and Kindergarten

Two picture words each, for ages 3 to 6. Read them aloud and let kids point, hop or shout their answer.

  1. Hop or skip?
  2. Sun or moon?
  3. Bananas or cherries?
  4. Trucks or tractors?
  5. Chicks or ducklings?
  6. Milk or juice?
  7. Drums or piano?
  8. Airplanes or rockets?
  9. Teddy bear or blanket?
  10. Clap or stomp?
  11. Piglets or lambs?
  12. Toast or cereal?
  13. Hearts or stars?
  14. Balloons or bubbles?
  15. Turtles or snails?
  16. Sand or snow?
  17. Purple or orange?
  18. Hippos or rhinos?
  19. Yogurt or applesauce?
  20. Puzzles or picture books?
  21. Moo or oink?
  22. Mittens or gloves?
  23. Crabs or starfish?
  24. Twirl or wiggle?
  25. Rainbows or clouds?
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Silly This or That Questions for Kids

Spaghetti shoelaces and penguin chefs: nonsense picks for giggly car rides.

  1. Spaghetti shoelaces or cookie buttons?
  2. A pet pickle or a pet potato?
  3. Jelly bean trees or cookie bushes?
  4. A penguin chef or a panda mail carrier?
  5. A flying bicycle or a swimming car?
  6. Singing socks or dancing shoes?
  7. Toothpaste that tastes like pizza or shampoo that smells like popcorn?
  8. Walk on the ceiling or bounce off the walls?
  9. Bubble gum clouds or marshmallow snow?
  10. Talk like a pirate all day or walk like a crab all day?
  11. A goat in pajamas or a cow in sunglasses?
  12. A lemonade lake or a hot cocoa river?
  13. Rainbow hair or sparkly eyebrows?
  14. An octopus teacher or a giraffe bus driver?
  15. Cereal with orange juice or pancakes with ketchup?
  16. A banana car or a watermelon boat?
  17. Snowballs made of ice cream or puddles made of juice?
  18. A giant rubber duck or a tiny whale in your bath?
  19. Jelly floors or pillow walls?
  20. Dance with a dinosaur or sing with a whale?
  21. Upside-down day or opposite day?
  22. A backpack full of bubbles or a lunchbox full of butterflies?
  23. Purple grass or a green sky?
  24. A racing snail or a flying turtle?
  25. A band of frogs or a choir of cows?
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Road Trip This or That Questions for Kids

Ten quick picks from our road trip deck that kids answer fastest: animals, treats and bunk beds. The full deck has 60.

  1. Sweet snacks or salty snacks?
  2. Pancakes or waffles?
  3. Ice cream cone or milkshake?
  4. Museum or zoo?
  5. Roller coaster or Ferris wheel?
  6. Dogs or cats?
  7. Cows or horses?
  8. Dolphins or sea turtles?
  9. Top bunk or bottom bunk?
  10. Sleeping bag or blanket?
Play these as cardsOpen the road trip deck (60 cards)More road trip games

How to Play This or That

This or that is the easiest question game for kids: two words, pick one, done.

  1. A grown-up or an older kid reads both options.
  2. Everyone answers fast. No "both" and no "I don't know."
  3. For little kids, pointing, hopping or a thumbs-up counts as an answer.
  4. Take turns asking, so every kid gets a go at reading.

Three ways to change it up

  • Move to your pick. In class or the backyard, one side of the room is "this," the other is "that." Kids run to their answer.
  • Guess my pick. Before answering, kids guess what a parent or sibling will choose. A right guess earns a point.
  • Make your own. Each kid invents one new pair. The sillier the better; the group votes on the best one.

Printable This or That Questions for Kids (Free PDF)

All 180 questions in large type, numbered and grouped by section, for the fridge, the glovebox or the classroom. Free, and no email needed.

Frequently asked questions

What are good this or that questions for kids?

Short pairs about things kids know and can picture: animals, food, toys and school. "Crayons or markers?" works for a 5-year-old and still gets a real answer from a 10-year-old.

What age is this or that good for?

From about age 3, if you stick to two picture words like the preschool list above. By 6 or 7, kids can handle every section on this page.

How do you play this or that in the classroom?

Read a pair and have students move to one side of the room for each option, or show a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Five questions make a quick morning meeting.

What are some fun this or that questions for kids?

Try "hide or seek?", "lunch first or recess first?" and "zebra stripes or leopard spots?" The Fun and Silly sections above have 55 more.

Can I print these for my class?

Yes. The Download PDF button makes a free printable of all 180 questions in large type, on letter or A4 paper. No sign-up.