How do I prepare my children to welcome the holy month of Ramadan?? Steps and directions are very important
Hello to all dear visitors to my child’s world, some important rules about Ramadan must be taught to children, morals that are important to instill in the child’s soul and personality, and religious and social customs that the child must be accustomed to from a young age because they reflect the spirit and purpose of Ramadan, and the best way to teach the child the different Ramadan customs and how to love the child. In the holy month of Ramadan.
Celebrate
the arrival of the holy month by decorating the house, windows, and
walls with lanterns, crescents, Ramadan paintings, lights, and
expressions welcoming Ramadan. Bring the spirit and joy of Ramadan into
your homes and the hearts of your children, so that they grow up loving
Ramadan and its rituals. Have them participate in organizing, making
and hanging decorations, and hang their paintings and the decorations
they make to make them feel happy, proud and self-confident.
How do I encourage my children to fast??
- Teach your children that their intention is for God when performing acts of worship or any good and generous deed.
It
is important for the child to learn that fasting is not only abstaining
from food and drink, but it is also abstaining from harm, obscene
speech, insulting others, and bad deeds.
-
Even if the child has not reached the appropriate age for fasting, you
can begin to accustom him to fasting by “fasting the bird,” that is,
fasting until the noon call to prayer, and you can reward him for
successfully completing the fast.
-
Accustom the child to help in preparing breakfast and household chores
during Ramadan, and encourage them to share their opinion on the type of
food that will be served at the breakfast table and the type of sweets
that will be made.
Teach
the child to read and memorize the Qur’an, and reward him for the
surahs he memorizes and the pages of the Qur’an he completes.
2. How do we make our children love prayer and approach it during Ramadan??
The
child at this age stage, i.e. between 5-7 years old, is more aware of
the tangible things around him and is able to distinguish between
dualities: such as heaven and hell, truth and falsehood, and his
questions about God and the Last Day increase.
-
First and foremost, one must stay away from the direct command to pray
or modify it, because the time for the command has not yet come, and
this is the time to encourage and encourage prayer.
-
Bring your child a coloring booklet explaining with pictures how to
perform ablution and prayer in practice. Share with him the joy of
discovery and explain some pictures to him.
-
Even if you have not imposed prayer on the child yet, make sure that he
is present with you during the group prayer, as the child actually
learns more than words. He may also be encouraged to imitate prayer
movements and wear prayer clothes. They provided him with a small
prayer rug, a small Qur’an book, and suitable clothes for prayer or
mosque.
-
Whenever a child stands next to his father or a girl stands next to her
mother to perform ablution or prayer, the parents must shower their
child with an embrace, a kiss, and a pat on the shoulder, as this
transfers the child’s overwhelming affection to prayer itself.
Emotionally contain your children.
- Make sure to get the immediate reward and let it be immediately after prayer so that the beautiful effect is associated with the prayer rug or the mosque.
- Downloading educational clips for ablution and prayer on devices for the child to play with, for example, which
contain cartoon films, pictures, colors, and songs that help train the
child in ablution and prayer with pleasure and entertainment.
- Link something that the child likes to prayer in a conditional way , such as saying to the child, “Let’s go to prayer, and on our way we will buy candy.”
-
Preparing the child for the command to pray, exciting him for it, and
telling him that when you reach seven years old, your beloved Messenger -
may God bless him and grant him peace - commands you to perform the
prayer so that God will love you.
-
Ensuring that the child is proficient in purity and cleansing in
preparation for the age of seven, the stage of the direct command to
pray.
3. How do I instill obedience in my children’s minds??
Talking
about obedience and how to encourage and train children to do it during
the month of Ramadan, with a very important matter, which is glorifying
the rituals of God.
Raising children to observe God Almighty:
This
is by reminding yourselves and reminding them of the verses and hadiths
that support this aspect, such as the saying of God Almighty: (Indeed,
the hearing, the sight, and the heart - all of these are to be
questioned.) [Al-Isra: 36], which means warning against hearing what is
not permissible for you, or looking at what is not permissible for you.
It is permissible for you, or you believe what is not permissible for
you, and they repeated to their ears the hadiths that purify the meaning
of surveillance, such as the saying of the Prophet, may God’s prayers
and peace be upon him: ‘Protect God and He will protect you’, and the
saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: ‘Fear God
wherever you are’, in a clear tone. With a vocal performance emphasizing
each letter and word of these great words, accompanied by a focused
look into the child’s eyes, with a tender smile.
Correcting and building sound thinking in children:
This
is done by explaining to them that not everything that is displayed
around us, especially social networking sites and what is in them, is
something that does not please God Almighty or is suitable for viewing.
Therefore, the believer’s dealings with it must be selective, so he only
watches what pleases his Lord and increases his good deeds.
It
is important for the child to learn that during Ramadan we learn
patience, self-control, tolerance, transcending minors, purifying
behavior from sins, and elevating morals. This is demonstrated by simple
actions such as avoiding backbiting, gossiping, and insulting others,
treating our friends kindly, sharing our toys and everything we love
with our brothers, and avoiding hitting or Hurting our younger brothers.
Ideas for training a child in obedience:
1.
Allocate a Ramadan supplications box for children, by bringing any box,
bottle, or even a simple box and colored papers in which one
supplication is written, then
folding them and placing them in the box next to the child’s bed, so
that he withdraws a paper every morning of the blessed month of Ramadan.
And read the supplication written on it, which will help him memorize
the supplications in the long run.
2.
The month of Ramadan is the month of generosity, generosity, and
benevolence, taking care of the poor and needy, and multiplying
charitable deeds. Therefore, it is important to accustom the child to
participating in volunteer work in Ramadan, and participating in charity
from his own expenses. One of the beautiful ideas is to prepare a
piggy bank for Ramadan, in which all family members put part of their
pocket money to help the poor.
3. When you give out charity or when you go to buy some food goods and donations to buy Eid clothes for children for the poor and needy , encourage
your son or daughter to contribute a small amount of their expenses,
and make them feel that they were able to bring happiness and joy to a
needy heart.
4.
Ramadan invitations and visiting relatives are among the customs that a
child must become accustomed to from a young age in order to understand
the importance of maintaining family ties. Take your children with you
when visiting family, and be sure to invite family and friends to your
homes. This will also help in developing social intelligence and
developing social and emotional skills in the child.
Be a role model for your children in performing worship to the fullest, because the children’s eyes are on your actions and their hearts are connected to what they learn from you, so make the holy month a new beginning for sound moral and religious communication with them.