Silly "Would You Rather" Questions Kids Like To Ask

No matter how dire the question may point to, somehow it will lead to laughter. Because it is intended to be fun and silly and some just getting outrageous and ridiculous, you will just shake your head and squirt out a smile or two.

Would you rather eat a monkey hand or a cow foot?

Apparently, my daughter did not research about cow foot being an ingredient for dishes in many cultures before she asked that question. There is Jamaican cowfoot soup, Ecuadoreans have a soup called Caldo de Pata which is also a kind of cow foot soup. Some Mexican beef soup flavored their soup base with cow feet. There is also a Pakistani dish made with cow feet, a Jewish dish called petcha which means jellied calves' feet. Chinese people braised cow feet the way they braised pig feet (which is a more common choice). Korean also reportedly using cow feet in soup too.

I couldn't find anything that supports human in any culture in favor of eating monkey hand. So if my daughter ever asks this question again, I will pick cow foot. That seems to be a delicious choice.

Life is definitely full of dilemmas, it is not an easy process to pick the best outcome possible out of two agonizing choices. That involves a lot of information processing from the past experiences, whether learned from experiencing them in a personal level or learned by watching others. Kids learn to label an experience as positive or negative depends upon how they are rewarded or punished. Of course, rewards and punishment may not be physical all the time, it could be verbal or non-verbal. For instance, a young kid may not know throwing stones at the bird is a bad thing. In fact, they may find it fun because they see a consequence of the bird flying away or making a noise as a result of using their new found skill of throwing. Over time, through education of various sorts, we all learn what is acceptable and what is not.

I have been working with special need individuals of a wide range of ages for a long time, and to some of them, they simply don't possess any understanding of dilemmas. Not too sure whether it is a blessing or not, at least they don't get stressed out by them.

A lot of times, I will ask the kids the reasons why they pick a particularly answer. Personally I think it is a good exercise for them to practice their logical or deductive thinking and evaluation skills . There is a crisis happening in a alarming rate to our culture right now and this issue has been the topic of many TV documentary shows. What I am talking about is a lot of parents are over protective of their children, they arrange everything from major to minor. They spare the children from the agony of stressful situations. And the result of that behavior has come down to affect their own kids. They can't think for themselves and they don't know how to handle stressful circumstances and dilemmas in life.

I am sure a lot of working parents or even stay-at-home parents find it hard to have quality time interacting with their children. Parents have a hectic life and so are kids. All those extra curricular activities, home work and socializing with their friends take up lots of time. Not a lot of activities can be classified as truly engaging between parents and kids. Some older kids may not feel like talking for the sake of talking. Nonetheless, you want to spend time with them, have fun with them and to know what they are thinking about. Sometimes, the fifteen-minute driving to soccer or gymnastics while firing at each other the "would you rather" questions is a great way to get some conversations going.

Some of the "would you rather" questions involved quite a bit of rationalizing and critical thinking. It is just as good a mental exercise as cross-word puzzles or Sudoku. The only difference is you can't do it alone. Research has supported the benefits of using our brain on a regular basis in order to buffer Alzheimer's disease. Socialization and human contact are known for relieving depression symptoms. Well, look at the possible synergistic effect of combination the two together. "Would you rather"questions are not just for kids, it could easily become a game for any age any where.

I remember when I was a young adult, I used to ask my boyfriend the "would you rather" questions too. I still remember one of those "poo" questions. "Would you rather eat a tablespoon of poo and get paid for $100000?" or "Would you rather step on poo with one foot and get paid for $5000?" I don't remember his answer or my answer at the time any more. But I remember the questions were escalating in difficulty.

The "would you rather' and "poo" questions may not be something I recommend to start up a conversation right away. But if you are in the situation when silence is awkward, start a harmless "would you rather" question to your audience may warm up the whole room. "Would you rather try a drink I invented two days ago or stick with the one you have in your hand?"