This or That Questions for Kids to Get Everyone Talking

Published 10 August 2026 by GamesMom Editorial Team

This or that is the fastest game there is. You name two things, a child picks one, and before you can ask why they are already waiting for the next pair. There is no thinking to do and nothing to lose, which is exactly why this or that questions for kids work so well when you need to fill a few minutes and get everyone joining in at once.

Below is a big list of this or that questions for kids, sorted by theme so you can grab a set that fits the moment. These are quick, real world choices, more pizza or tacos than fly or turn invisible, which makes them a lovely get to know you game for a new class, a car ride, or a table of children waiting for food. Read them out fast and keep the pace up, because the speed is half the fun.

How this or that works

Say two options and have your child pick one straight away, then move on. Unlike a would you rather question, there is no scenario to picture and no catch to spot, so even the youngest child can play. That simplicity is the point: this or that is about first instincts, snap preferences and finding out what a child likes without any pressure to explain.

You can play it three ways. Rapid fire, where you rattle through as many pairs as you can and nobody explains anything, is the giggliest. Slow it down and it becomes a get to know you game, where each child says why they picked what they picked. Or turn it into a group vote, where everyone points to their side of the room on the count of three and you see how the class splits.

Food this or that questions

Ask these before snack time and watch the room take sides.

1. Pizza or tacos?
2. Ice cream or cake?
3. Sweet or salty?
4. Pancakes or waffles?
5. Apples or bananas?
6. Chocolate or vanilla?
7. Burgers or hot dogs?
8. Cookies or brownies?
9. Juice or milk?
10. Popcorn or chips?

Animal this or that questions

Every child has a favorite, so these split the room every time.

11. Cats or dogs?
12. Lions or tigers?
13. Dolphins or sharks?
14. Birds or fish?
15. Rabbits or hamsters?
16. Big animals or small animals?
17. Horses or ponies?
18. Elephants or giraffes?

Weather and season this or that questions

19. Summer or winter?
20. Rain or snow?
21. Beach or mountains?
22. A sunny day or a rainy day?
23. Spring or fall?
24. Hot weather or cold weather?
25. A pool or the ocean?

Playtime this or that questions

26. Inside games or outside games?
27. Board games or video games?
28. Reading or drawing?
29. Swimming or biking?
30. The playground or the park?
31. Building blocks or jigsaw puzzles?
32. Dancing or singing?
33. Running or jumping?
34. Painting or building?

School this or that questions

Great for the first day back or a Monday morning warm up.

35. Math or reading?
36. Art or music?
37. Recess or lunch?
38. Reading a book or listening to a story?
39. Morning or night?
40. Working alone or working with a partner?
41. Writing or spelling?

Just for fun this or that questions

A few bigger, sillier ones to finish on a laugh.

42. Superheroes or wizards?
43. Space or the deep ocean?
44. Trains or planes?
45. A castle or a treehouse?
46. Camping in a tent or staying in a hotel?
47. A scooter or a skateboard?
48. Dinosaurs or dragons?
49. Robots or aliens?
50. A pet that can fly or a pet that can talk?

Using this or that in the classroom

Teachers get a lot from a single round. A quick this or that at the door turns arrival time into focused, happy chatter, and one between lessons works as a brain break that settles a class rather than winding it up. Because it needs no equipment and no setup, it is the easiest game in the room to reach for, and it pairs neatly with the timers and pickers in a set of classroom games when you want to keep turns fair.

The get to know you version is the most useful of all at the start of a year. A handful of these questions tells you, in about two minutes, who loves art, who would live at the beach, and who would pick a dog over anything. It is a gentle way to help a new class find the things they have in common.

Matching the questions to your child’s age

The same list works from toddlers to tweens if you tweak how you play it. With a three or four year old, stick to the food and animal pairs, where both options are things they can picture and love, and expect them to shout the answer before you finish the sentence. There is no need for reasons at this age; the win is simply that they are answering questions and hearing new words for things they already have opinions about.

Around five to seven, children start to enjoy defending a pick, so this is the sweet spot for asking a quick why after each one. You will hear some wonderful logic, like choosing summer because winter makes your nose cold, and that little bit of explaining is early practice at putting a thought into words. Mix in the playtime and school pairs here, since those are the choices they are living every day.

For eight to twelve, lean on the just for fun and school sets, and let the follow up questions get bigger. Ask a child who picked space over the deep ocean what they would want to find out there, or why math beats reading for them, and a snap choice quietly turns into a real conversation. Older kids also love turning the tables and quizzing you, so be ready to defend your own answer to pizza or tacos.

Make your own this or that questions

Once your child gets the idea, the best questions are the ones you invent together about your own life. The formula is simple: pick two things from the same family that a child genuinely likes, and make sure neither one is an obvious loser. Two favorite dinners, two family pets, two places you have been on holiday, two games in the cupboard. The closer the contest, the longer the argument, and the more you both learn.

Steer clear of pairs where one side clearly wins, since bedtime or ice cream is not really a choice, and avoid anything with a right answer, because this or that is about preference, not knowledge. A good homemade set might use the names of grandparents, streets, teachers or pets, which turns the game into a warm little tour of the things your child cares about. Keep the winners on a note in your phone and you will always have a round ready for the next long wait.

Play the question games

If your child would rather tap than read, the free Would You Rather game runs on the same idea, with two choices on screen and a fresh pair on every press.

For a set of trickier, more imaginative scenarios to read or print, our list of would you rather questions for kids turns the thinking up a notch.

And a round of true or false questions for kids swaps preferences for surprising facts while keeping the same quick, everyone joins in feel.

The best this or that questions for kids are simply the ones that make a child answer without stopping to think. Keep a list in your back pocket, ask them fast, and let the snap decisions fly.