90+ Kids Charades Ideas That Actually Work

Kid-friendly charades words sorted by age, from toddler-simple animals to trickier words for 8-12 year olds, plus rule tweaks that keep young players in the game.

3 min read

Charades is close to a perfect kids' game: no reading required, no equipment, and it burns energy. The catch is that most word lists are written for adults. A five-year-old cannot act out "inflation", and they will tell you so.

These lists are grouped by age. Everything in them is a thing a child can physically copy, which is the only rule that matters when picking kids charades words.

Charades for ages 3-5

At this age, stick to animals and one-step actions. Expect sounds to slip out and let them — the silence rule can wait a few years.

Animals: Dog, Cat, Cow, Duck, Lion, Monkey, Elephant, Snake, Fish, Bird, Bunny, Bear, Pig, Horse, Frog

Simple actions: Sleeping, Eating, Jumping, Clapping, Waving, Crying, Dancing, Running, Drinking, Brushing teeth

Things they know: Ball, Car, Hat, Shoes, Banana, Ice cream, Book, Bath, Balloon, Teddy bear

Our Animals pack and Colors pack are built almost entirely from words at this level, and both are free to play here.

Charades for ages 6-8

Now you can add jobs, vehicles and short scenes. Kids this age love acting out grown-ups.

Jobs: Doctor, Firefighter, Teacher, Chef, Police officer, Farmer, Astronaut, Dentist, Pilot, Vet

Vehicles: Airplane, Train, Bicycle, Boat, Helicopter, Tractor, Fire truck, Rocket, Skateboard, School bus

Everyday scenes: Washing the dishes, Riding a bike, Tying shoelaces, Blowing out candles, Playing hide and seek, Walking the dog, Building a sandcastle, Flying a kite, Going swimming, Carrying something heavy

Animals that need real effort: Kangaroo, Penguin, Crab, Owl, Giraffe, Butterfly, Spider, Turtle, Shark, Gorilla

The Kids pack collects 60 words at roughly this level.

Charades for ages 9-12

Older kids can handle characters, feelings and multi-word phrases. This is where charades starts to look like the adult game.

Feelings: Excited, Nervous, Angry, Confused, Bored, Shy, Proud, Jealous, Exhausted, Surprised

Sports: Basketball, Soccer, Swimming, Gymnastics, Skiing, Tennis, Karate, Bowling, Ice skating, Rock climbing

Trickier scenes: Late for school, Losing a tooth, Getting a shot at the doctor, Sneaking a cookie, Homework you forgot, Winning a race, Slipping on ice, Bad smell in the room, Trying not to laugh, Waking up early

Story characters: Superhero, Pirate, Wizard, Ghost, Robot, Mermaid, Dragon, Vampire, Knight, Alien

Rule tweaks for playing with kids

The standard rules assume adults. Four small changes keep young players in the game instead of frustrated.

Let sounds slide for the under-sixes. The no-noise rule is the hardest part of charades. With very young kids, drop it entirely and bring it back when they are older.

Shorten the timer. Thirty seconds keeps attention where sixty loses it. It also means more turns each, which is what they actually want.

Play cooperatively. Instead of two teams, make it everyone versus the clock. Count how many words the whole room gets in five minutes and try to beat it next time. This removes the crying that competitive scoring causes at younger ages.

Whisper the word instead of showing it. For kids who cannot read yet, an adult whispers the word to the actor. This is also a good excuse to keep an adult involved in every round.

Kids charades for a party

For a birthday party, run charades in short bursts rather than as one long game. Five minutes, then something else, then five minutes again. Attention spans are the limiting factor, not the words.

Split into teams of three or four rather than two big teams so nobody waits long for a turn. If you have a wide age range, put older and younger kids on the same team — the older ones end up coaching, which they enjoy more than winning.