Ramadan is a great opportunity to instill faith in our children's hearts. Some of these values are:
1- Patience: By enduring hunger and thirst while fasting, a child learns to be patient.
2- Fearing Allah The Almighty
No one sees the child except Allah The Almighty, but he abstains from eating and drinking as he knows that Allah The Almighty sees him.
3- Love for the mosque
Accompanying the father during Taraaweeh prayers to the mosque and participating in the activities of the mosque are memories that become engraved in the child's heart. When he grows up, he will remember all these incidents and this will have a great effect in encouraging him to repent and return to Allah The Almighty if he deviates or becomes a victim of bad companions.
3- Love for the Quran
When the child sees his parents and siblings devoted to the Quran, he will naturally imitate them and he will recite the Quran and may even try to finish reciting it in Ramadan. All this strengthens his sound disposition, encourages him to love the Quran, teaches him how to recite the Quran and makes it easy for him when he grows up, unlike other children who did not recite the Quran at an early age and are unable to recite it fluently and correctly when they grow up.
5. Strengthening the family bonds and maintaining kinship ties
This great month is a great opportunity for strengthening family relations and maintaining kinship ties as families gather twice at the dining table and their relations become stronger. This affects the personality of the child and strengthens it.
A child who is brought up among a family with strong bonds is more psychologically and mentally stable than another who is brought up among a broken family where kinship ties are severed.
Moreover, exchanging visits among family members and gathering at the time of Iftaar teach the child the importance of maintaining kinship ties.
6- Generosity
When parents follow the model of the Messenger of Allah, , as he was the most generous during the month of Ramadan, and pay charity and Zakat Al-Fitr (obligatory charity in Ramadan, paid before the 'Eid prayer), the children get used to giving charity – especially if the parents are keen on this. Once, I saw a mother giving her little child money and asking him to give it to a needy person. This has a great effect on the child and it will teach him to be generous and give charity.
Some practical means to make our children love the month of Ramadan:
1- Decorations
Decorating the streets and homes at the advent of Ramadan, has a great positive effect on children, especially if they participate in these activities.
One might also write some slogans such as "Welcome Ramadan", "Welcome the month of fasting" or "Welcome the month of forgiveness" so that the child feel that Ramadan is a feast and that people celebrate its advent.
2- Presents and toys
At the beginning of the month, buy some presents, toys and Fanoos (lanterns) so that the child would come to associate this month comes with good things and learn to love it and be keen on fasting.
3- Let children fast gradually
It is not necessary for your child to fast the entire month or to fast the whole day if he is still under-age. You may also make a competition for your children by telling them that the one who fasts the most will get the best prize, or whoever prays Taraaweeh until the end will get a prize and so forth.
4- Buy your child new clothes before Ramadan
Tell your children that these new clothes are for acts of worship. For instance, if you have a boy, you can buy him a new garment, a Mus-haf (copy of the Quran) and Thikr beads. If you have a girl, you can buy her a new Abayah (cloak), a scarf and a Mus-haf so that she would be prepared for going to the mosque and reciting the Quran.
5- Switch off the television
Prepare your own programs for education and entertainment at home, such as:
- A competition for memorizing the Quran.
- A daily gathering where the family studies the Hadeeths of the Messenger of Allah, .
- To recite the whole Quran with the family once with the participation of all the family members.
- The entire family should go for Taraaweeh prayers together.
- Visiting one's relatives and maintaining kinship ties.
- Making a competition for finishing the recitation of the Quran more than once in Ramadan.
These activities will keep them busy all the time and enable them to give up watching television. They will also make children develop a love for Ramadan and acts of obedience.