For elders as well as children, Ramadan-ul-Mubarak is the best source of strengthening their spiritual relationship with Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ. In this blessed month, Muslims perform wholeheartedly the deeds through which they can please Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ. But this question may arise in the minds of parents, ‘How should children spend Ramadan?’ We have mentioned here such seventeen points that will help them resolve this question. Please read them:
1. Parents are a role model for their children. Children try to copy everything their parents do. Therefore, parents should do the things in front of them which they want them to do.
2. Make your children’s habit to observe fast as you have made their habit to offer Salah. They can also be given practice in observing fast in a way that, in the beginning, they should be made to bear hunger for few hours and then gradually increase this duration. When your child is able to observe fast, get him/her to observe fast.
3. Highly encourage the children who observe a fast for the first time.
4. Prepare a schedule for the children observing fasts. The schedule should be a beautiful combination of worship, rest and other suitable activities. Moreover, do not let them play as much as they do in their normal routine, otherwise it may cause difficulty for them to continue to observe the fast until the Iftar time.
5. Encourage children who do not observe fasts due to being too young not to eat and drink anything outside out of reverence for blessed Ramadan.
6. Provide children with information according to their age in an easy manner about the virtues of Ramadan and easy Shar’i rulings on fast. For this, ‘Faizan-e-Ramadan’ [Blessings of Ramadan] written by Ameer-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat دَامَتْ بَرَكَاتُـهُمُ الْعَالِيَـه is very useful.
7. Tell children that fasting does not merely mean they should stop eating and drinking, but they have to refrain from every such deed that Allah Almighty dislikes. For example, calling names, watching movies, showing anger, telling a lie, backbiting and the like.
8. Tell children about the history of fasting. Tell them that fasting is a very old form of worship. Fasting was obligatory for all Ummahs from the time of Sayyiduna Aadam عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام to the present day. The fasts of Ramadan were made obligatory on 10th of Sha’ban, 2 AH. (Siraat-ul-Jinaan, vol. 1, pp. 290)
9. Tell children about the purpose of fasting. Tell them that the purpose of fasting is to become pious and abstinent.
10. A father should take his sensible children to the Masjid for Salah, whereas mothers should make arrangement for their daughters to offer Salah with them at home.
11. Help children memorize the Du’as for observing fast, breaking fast and the Du’a of Layla-tul-Qadr.
12. Recite the Holy Quran along with your children.
13. Take the help of your children when spreading the cloth on which Iftari is served so that they can develop yearning for fasting.
14. Give Sadaqah and charity through the hands of your children so that they can also develop yearning for spending in the way of Allah عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
15. Send food items and Iftari, etc. to neighbours through your children so that they can form the habit of becoming good neighbours.
16. Give this mind-set to your children that they have to keep worshipping like this even after the blessed month of Ramadan.
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