Magic tricks for children – 4 things you must do when performing for children

Would you like all the children in the audience to laugh and have fun? How would you like the parents, or whoever is hiring you, to be so impressed that they hire you to come back next year and perform? You can have a successful show and repeat performances if you follow my four tips for performing magic for children.

The children are in a world of their own. To be successful with them, you will have to forget all the sleight of hand you learned. All those funny jokes that worked great for adults won’t work for kids. Kids don’t want to see all your hocus pocus miracles, they just want to be entertained. With that in mind, here is a list of things you must do to have a successful children’s magic show.

1. Audience participation is a must
Children love being part of the show. Include them in almost all tricks. There are two types of audience participation. Bring in a child from the audience to help with a trick, or ask the audience to stay in their seats and join in by shouting magic words, etc.

2. Use a magic word
Children always love to think that they are creating magic by using a magic word. Now you shouldn’t use any old words. Most magicians use “hocus pocus” or “abracadabra”. I’ve had more success using just a random crazy word, like “Penguin” or “I love turtles.” Most people expect some sort of magic phrase, so when you say a random word or phrase, it catches them off guard. Kids love silly things and it’s always good for a laugh.

I also recommend that you use your sponsor’s name as the magic word. After all, they are paying your salary. Another great phrase to use as a magic word is “Happy Birthday ______”. You insert the name of the birthday boy or girl in the blank space.

3. Forget the adults
At many parties where I performed, there were also many adults. Sometimes almost three to one. Just remember that you are there to do magic tricks for children, not adults. So forget about them and focus on the children.

4. Use a lot of visual jokes
Kids love this more than hocus pocus. You could walk in with one shoe untied. You trip over the loose cord. When you bend down to tie your shoelaces, you hear a big ripping sound and everyone thinks you ripped your pants (insert laughs here). You stand up and comically try to look at your butt (more laughter). Simply doing gag after gag will keep the kids laughing. Make sure to add some magic tricks for the kids as well.

Just applying these four rules when doing magic tricks for kids will ensure that everyone has a good time. After all, isn’t that the point? Time for parents to relax and children to be entertained. So don’t worry about all the fancy gibberish, get out there and have fun.