To accompany 500+ Things Kids Like, here’s a list of 100+ things that kids don’t consider their favorites. Of course there’s probably some kids out there who drool over asparagus, and those who climb into bed without protest, but in general, this list is filled with things children want to avoid. I hope it helps jump-start your creativity.
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Anchovies
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Arguments
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Asparagus
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Bats (Disclaimer: my seven-year-old loves bats.)
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Bedtime
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Bee Stings
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Being Grounded (Punished)
- Being Picked Last for a Team
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Being Unpopular
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Being Scared
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Being Sick
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Being Teased
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Bleu Cheese
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Braces
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Broccoli
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Brussels Sprouts
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Bullies
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Caviar
- Celery
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Chicken Pox
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Chores
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Cleaning up
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Confessing
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Copycats
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Cooties
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Crushes
- The Dentist
- Detention
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Divorce
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Embarrassing Parents
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Escargot
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Exams/Tests
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Failing
- Feeling Left Out
- A Fever
- The Flu
- Fungus
- Getting Cheeks Pinched
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Giving Up
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Glasses
- Gorgonzola
- Growing Pains
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Gum on Their Shoes
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Haircuts
- Headaches
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Homework
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Hot Pepper
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Lectures
- Lima Beans
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Long Car Rides
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Losing
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Loud Noises
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Making Their Beds
- Measles
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Medicine
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Millipedes
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Monsters
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Mosquito Bites
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Moving
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Nightcrawlers
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Not Knowing Another’s Secret
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Onions
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Paper Cuts
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Parsley
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Pea Soup
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Pop Quizzes
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Posing for Portraits
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Potty Training
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Quiet
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Retainers
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Sharing
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Shopping/Errands
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Shots (Vaccinations)
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Skinned Knees
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Siblings
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Sitting Still
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Smashed Pumpkins
- Speaking in front of the class
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Spinach
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Sticky Hands
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Substitute Teachers
- Sushi
- Talking to Grown-ups
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Tattle Tales
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Teacher’s Pets
- Tickle Torture
- Trying Something New
- Tummy Aches
- Turning Off the TV
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Turtleneck Sweaters
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Unfamiliar Places
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Unusual Foods
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Vice Principals
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Waiting
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Walking
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Washing Their Faces
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Watching the News
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Wearing Bike Helmets/Protective Pads
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Wedgies
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Winter Hats
- Wool Sweaters
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Writing Reports
- Younger Siblings Pestering Them
Writing for Kids (While Raising Them) 
30 comments
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April 11, 2009 at 9:00 am
199 Things That Kids Like « Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
[…] (And also check out the list of things kids don’t like.) […]
April 13, 2009 at 2:30 am
Lists to Spark Ideas « Writing and Illustrating
[…] Lists to Spark Ideas So you are sitting in front of your computer ready to write your next children’s book, but nothing is being typed. Perhaps a list of things kids like and a list of thing kids don’t like might be enough to spark that imagination. Well, here is just the first 100 of what kids like that Tara Lazar has been compiling. Click her to read the full list. https://taralazar.wordpress.com/2007/11/04/199-things-that-kids-like/ She’s up to 79 things kids don’t like. Maybe you can think of more. Here’s the link https://taralazar.wordpress.com/2008/02/07/55-things-kids-dont-like/ […]
November 13, 2009 at 12:38 am
Gail Handler
I think you should add Lima Beans to the list! I know I hated them as a kid. I’ve even written a story about lima beans being icky, subbing it out now!
November 13, 2009 at 8:55 am
tara
Oh, LOL! I was sure I already had them there…but no, they escaped! I still dislike them as an adult. The taste is fine, but it’s the texture that gets me.
Lima beans have been added! Thanks!
November 28, 2015 at 12:56 pm
Sherri Jones Rivers
My grown daughter says they’re mealy.
February 6, 2010 at 4:58 am
Jamie
i think you should add vaccinations
May 21, 2010 at 5:20 pm
tara
Thanks! I do have “shots” on the list already–I’ll add vaccinations in parenthesis.
May 22, 2010 at 9:16 am
Joanne Fritz
How about “being tickled”?? I HATED that as a kid. And for some strange reason, grownups always think it’s funny…
May 22, 2010 at 12:07 pm
tara
Oh yeah, being tickled to the point it hurts and you can’t breathe is awful!
November 5, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Lovely Link: 400+ Things That Kids Like « Crave Writing
[…] kids like will certainly ignite your creativity engine. If interested Tara also has a list of 79 Things Kids Don’t Like. Happy imaginative driving […]
November 12, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Jessica Young
Turtleneck sweaters. That’s very, very true.
October 30, 2012 at 5:51 pm
clara27
How about neckties and being in an embarrassing situation
November 11, 2013 at 12:28 pm
Linda
I need to alphabetize my list! And add to it!
November 19, 2013 at 9:33 am
RadSheri
Seems like a list that Rick Walton has on his site. rcreations.com.
November 20, 2013 at 1:59 pm
Perfecting Motherhood
Just came from the PiBoIdMo FB page to check out your list. I love them! I see a big one missing from this, though. The DARK!
Oh, and zippers, and buttons, hard on those little fingers…
April 21, 2014 at 8:22 pm
Jacqueline Kramer
my 6 yrar old loves brussel sprouts
April 25, 2014 at 8:21 am
Michael Karg (@michaelkarg)
Diapers…but also clothes in general. Looking forward to reading Naked! by Michael Ian Black and Debbie Ridpath Ohi
September 19, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Top 10 Toys (and Candy) at the Turn of the (Last) Century: Wheels of Change (plus a giveaway!) | Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
[…] I love lists. I’m a listophile. This blog features t a list of 500+ Things that Kids Like, Things They DON’T Like, and a list of over 200 fun, cool and interesting words. List-o-mania! List-o-rama! The lister! […]
January 6, 2015 at 9:47 am
A List of Ideas for Self-Initiated Illustration Pieces |
[…] where they get their ideas. She also has a great list of “500 Things Kids Like” and “79 Things Kids Don’t Like” that will surely inspire […]
May 7, 2015 at 8:03 pm
mimi
Add brushing teeth
October 26, 2015 at 12:04 pm
Kassy Keppol
I love this list best!
November 28, 2015 at 1:21 pm
Cassie Bentley
I must still be a kid. I don’t like most of the things on the list either.
September 23, 2016 at 12:11 pm
Kelly KC (@KellyLKC)
My kids love posing for portraits. The more hideous faces they can make, the funnier!
October 20, 2017 at 12:28 am
Sandy
Stewed prunes and stewed tomatoes were high on my detestable list as a kid.
January 5, 2018 at 8:42 pm
Pete
This is funny and almost accurate.
January 21, 2018 at 1:47 pm
Nicole Stevenson
Hi, I do like this list and find this to be helpful, however my youngest likes a few of these things. Now that I have just became a PB Author, Diamond’s Kindergarten Madness. This has wheels turning in my head, perhaps for the next book. Thank you, Sincerly Nicole M. Stevenson
September 9, 2018 at 9:00 pm
Diane Roberts
These things are so fun, fun, fun, to know.
October 8, 2018 at 7:35 am
Kathryn Marsden
Love your lists. My pet hate as a kid: Lumpy porridge. Made worse because my parents always made me wash the porridge pan. Gross. So maybe add Lumpy porridge AND slimy water!
December 16, 2020 at 11:31 pm
Aryan
Thanks for this lovely help….
January 30, 2023 at 2:56 pm
biil jarcho
Tickle torturer isn’t that bad.