✍️ Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team · Updated May 2026

Would They Rather: Parent Edition

A printed list of impossible new-parent dilemmas — diaper blowout in line at Target, or projectile spit-up at a work meeting? Guests circle their pick on each one. The host reads the votes aloud and the room's consensus is half the joke.

✅ Crowd-pleaser
🍷 Coed-friendly
🤝 Low-pressure
📹 Works on Zoom
⚡ Quick

⏱ Prep: 15 min
👥 Best for: Any size
🍷 Coed: Yes
📹 Virtual: Works on Zoom

What you'll need

One printed Would They Rather worksheet per guest — 15 to 20 dilemmas with A/B options (Canva templates run free; Etsy printables are $3 to $5)
A pack of black ballpoint pens, 12-count from Target or Walmart for around $3
A whiteboard, 24-inch flip pad, or a notebook page for tallying the live votes
One named prize per round winner — a $20 Trader Joe's gift card, a candle, or a small Bath & Body Works gift set
An optional handheld mic or wooden spoon for the host's dramatic read-aloud (sells the moment more than it should)

Before the shower (setup)

Three days before the baby shower, write your dilemma list. Aim for 15 to 20 prompts — under 15 feels short, over 20 starts to drag. Mix topics so the worksheet doesn't get stale: bodily fluids (blowout in the cereal aisle vs spit-up in your hair before a Zoom call), sleep (one straight hour of sleep vs four 15-minute naps), food (a week of nothing but Beech-Nut purées vs a month with no coffee), parenting hell moments (lose the stroller at Costco for ten minutes vs leave the diaper bag at home for a four-hour outing). Add three universal-cringe dilemmas that pull in non-parents too.
Lay out the worksheet in Canva or Google Docs — title at top, then numbered dilemmas with two options each labeled A and B. Leave a circle for each option so guests can circle their pick clearly. Keep the prompts to one sentence each; long-winded setups slow down the read-aloud. Print one sheet per guest plus three or four spares, and a master copy for yourself in 18-point font. Pre-vote the worksheet yourself once — if any prompt makes you genuinely uncomfortable, swap it for a tamer one. The mom-to-be should preview the list too; if she winces at one, cut it.
Set the worksheets in a stack on a side table with pens fanned next to them. Tell the mom-to-be ahead of time whether you want her to play normally or whether her answers will be the "real answer" reveal at the end. Stash the prize behind the host table. Test the room's vote-by-show-of-hands sightline — if half the guests can't see the host clearly, plan to stand up on a chair or move to a more central spot.

Front-door setup for Would They Rather: Parent Edition — basket of clothespins and a chalkboard rule sign by the entryway — Set up at the front door so the game starts the second guests walk in.

How to play

Hand out a worksheet and a pen to each guest once everyone is seated for the baby shower games block. Read the rule out loud: "Circle A or B for each one. No 'depends.' No 'both.' Pick the one you'd rather face if your life depended on it." Give the room 5 to 7 minutes of quiet writing time. Set a phone timer so you don't lose track — guests will keep scribbling forever if you let them.

Once pens are down, walk the room through each dilemma. Read it slowly, hit the pause between A and B for comic timing, then ask for a show of hands. "How many of you picked diaper blowout in public? And how many picked spit-up at work?" Tally on the whiteboard. The split is the laugh — sometimes 14 to 2, sometimes a dead split where the room has to argue it out. Call on the loudest vote on the minority side to defend their pick in one sentence. Move on before the explanation drags.

After all 17 dilemmas have been voted, hand out the prize. Best options: "funniest defense" (most charming one-sentence explanation), "weirdest match with mom-to-be" if you ran the reveal version, or "most-aligned-with-the-room" for whoever picked the majority answer the most times. The mom-to-be keeps the worksheets — she'll flip through them a year later and laugh at which friend picked which side.

A hand lifting a clothespin off another guest's shirt — the steal moment in Would They Rather: Parent Edition — The moment of the steal — someone slipped, someone caught it, pin changes hands.

Variations to try

Mom-to-be reveal round. Don't reveal vote tallies during play. After all 17 dilemmas, the mom-to-be reads her own answers aloud. Each guest checks how often they matched her. Highest match count wins a prize. Adds a "who knows mom best" layer without writing a separate quiz.
Couples mode. Each couple shares one worksheet and has to agree on every answer before circling. Tests how well couples know each other's gross-out tolerances. The arguing between two partners over whether spit-up or blowout is worse is the actual entertainment.
Zoom version. Send the worksheet as a Google Form before the call. Guests submit answers in advance. On the call, the host screen-shares the live results bar-chart for each dilemma as it gets read aloud. Works smoothly for showers up to 30 guests virtually.
Worse-case round. Sneak in three dilemmas where both options are bad. Forces guests to pick the lesser evil. Example: "Would they rather projectile spit-up at their boss, or diaper blowout in their in-laws' new car?" Best left for the back half of the worksheet once the room is warmed up.
Pair with [[most-likely-to-parent]]. Run Would They Rather first, then [[most-likely-to-parent]] right after. Different mechanic, same predict-and-ridicule energy. Together they fill 25 minutes of strong coed baby shower game time.

Pro tips from hosts who've actually run this

Mix the topics. Don't stack 12 bodily-fluid dilemmas in a row — rotate fluids, sleep, food, embarrassment, parenting hell moments. The wider the spread, the longer the laughs last.
Seventeen is the magic dilemma count. Fewer than 15 and the round wraps before guests warm up; over 20 and the votes start blurring together.
Read with dramatic pauses. The two-second pause between A and B is where the comedy lives. Smirk-free delivery hits harder than a giggling host.
Call on one minority-vote guest per round to defend their pick. Their one-sentence justification is usually the loudest laugh of the round.
Include three universal dilemmas that work for non-parents. Without them, guests who've never had a baby check out by question five.
Save the worksheet file. You'll get asked for it at the next shower in your friend group — Canva keeps it editable forever.
Pre-vote the sheet yourself before printing. If a dilemma makes you actually wince, it's not worth the awkward room silence — cut it and swap in a milder one.

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting guests answer "both" or "neither." The whole game falls apart the second one guest hedges — it gives everyone else permission. Enforce a hard pick from the first dilemma onward.
Reading the dilemmas too fast. The pause between option A and option B is the joke. Slow down or you lose the comedy.
Going too gross. "Eat the contents of a used diaper or..." gets dead silence, not laughter. Mild gross-out only — anything that makes a guest actually gag is too far.
Not tallying votes. Without a running count, you can't pick a winner, and the round just trails off. Use a whiteboard or your phone notes to track each dilemma.
Forgetting to time the writing block. Guests will keep scribbling forever if you don't cap it at seven minutes. Set a phone timer and call "pens down" out loud.

Best prize for this game

Pick something fun rather than fancy. A $20 Trader Joe's gift card pairs well with the silly tone of the game. A Yankee Candle in something cozy (Vanilla Cupcake, Sun & Sand, Balsam & Cedar) lands with the older relatives. For coed showers, a six-pack of fancy beer from the local craft brewery or a $20 Starbucks gift card works. Wrap the prize in a kraft bag with a handwritten "survivor" tag — sells the joke before the prize even opens.

→ More baby shower prize ideas, by budget

Our verdict

Fast, funny, and the surprise hit at coed baby showers. Real parents nod at the worst options, non-parents pick the ones they think are funnier, and the votes always split in surprising ways.

Would They Rather: Parent Edition — FAQ

How many dilemmas should I write for Would They Rather at a baby shower?

Aim for 15 to 20 — seventeen is the sweet spot. Under 15 wraps too fast; over 20 and the laughs start to thin out by the end. A 17-question round runs about 12 to 15 minutes total.

What are good Would They Rather questions for a baby shower?

Diaper blowout in public versus projectile spit-up in the hair. One hour of straight sleep versus four 15-minute naps. A week of nothing but Gerber baby food versus a month with no coffee. Lose the stroller at Costco for ten minutes versus forget the diaper bag at home for a four-hour outing. Mix bodily fluids, sleep, food, and parenting hell moments for variety.

Is Would They Rather: Parent Edition good for a coed shower?

It's one of the best coed picks on the list. The dilemma format gives dads a way to play without performing, and the votes split in surprising ways across friends and family. Strong for shower groups of 10 to 25.

Can you play Would They Rather on Zoom?

Easily. Send a Google Form with the dilemmas before the call. Guests submit answers ahead of time. On the call, screen-share the live bar-chart results as each dilemma gets read aloud. Cleanest virtual baby shower game in the lineup — minimal host effort, maximum laughs.

How long does this game take?

About 12 to 15 minutes for a 17-dilemma round. Five to seven minutes of quiet writing, then seven to nine minutes of reading, voting, and one-sentence defenses. Don't drag past 20 minutes or the energy taps out.

Are non-parents going to find Would They Rather funny?

Yes, often more than real parents. Non-parents pick options based on imagined-worst, which veteran parents find hilarious. Include three universal dilemmas that don't require parenting experience, and the room balances out perfectly.

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About the author

Best Baby Shower Games Editorial Team — Party planners, parents & writers. We’re a small team of party planners and parents who’ve hosted — and been guests at — dozens of baby showers. Every game here is sorted by what actually lands in a real room, not by what just looks cute on a Pinterest board.