Ramadan is blessed month and the month of the Qur'an. This is a time when we strive to be our best selves and hopefully improve for the rest of the year. Although adults are usually the ones who participate in fasting and other acts of worship during Ramadan, there are a few things we can do to get our children excited and involved throughout the month.
There are five tips for what we can do with our children that I forgot to share earlier, so here we go ...
Saying Adhakar
Get them involved during the morning and evening adhkar. If they are sleeping during the first one, try the one before Maghrib. It could be as little as one or two du'as and they can walk their way up.
Practicing Salah
Whenever you go pray, ask your children to join you. Even if you did this before, try making it more consistent during Ramadan. Hopefully, by the time the month ends, your children would build a stronger habit of joining you for Salah. This of course depends on their age.
Learning the Qur'an in Depth
Most of the time, we try to finish reading or listening to the whole Qur'an during Ramadan. Although this is great because we should strive to increase in worship, it can sometimes take away from the quality of our worship. It's not a race and the whole point of reading the Qur'an is to understand what Allah is telling us and proving our lives. This is the perfect time to help your children fall in love with the Qur'an. Keep it simple and learn a few ayah at a time with your children. Read the meaning and tafseer to help them to better connect with the Qur'an. This goes for both those who speak Arabic and those who don't. People sometimes think that making children do a lot is what proves that they are learning. That could sometimes do the opposite as some children resist learning when they feel overwhelmed. Remember, children have a shorter attention span. When it's nice and short, they retain the information much better; and that's the goal.
Related Post: A Ramadan Journal for Little Muslims
Practicing Fasting
Depending on the age, they can practice fasting a part of the day, half or even the whole day (for a few days) if they can. It could be as little as a few hours after waking up or even skipping breakfast. It obviously doesn't count as a day of fasting, but they'll eventually get there in shaa Allah. You'll be surprised how proud children can be of themselves for doing that. It makes them feel like they're doing something valuable; and they are.
Journaling:
Your children can draw or write about the highlight of their day, what they did or learned. Again, it doesn't have to be much. Writing even a sentence is good enough. It's also a great reading and writing practice for children. They improve without even realizing that they're learning. It's a win-win. It's also an opportunity for your children to practice gratitude and communicating with Allah more.
Keep in mind that even if all you did with your children this Ramadan was reading or listening to the Qur'an, it would be huge. This is the month of the Qur'an, so let's strive to go in depth with it. Remember, quality is better than quantity. If you can do more, great, but focus on getting your children to understand the Qur'an and fall in love with it by the will of Allah.
May Allah accept our efforts, acts of worship, forgive us and grant us all success.
Ameen!
Ramadan Mubarak!
