There are many challenges that parents face raising their children into good humans and practicing muslims. One of the big ones is how to get kids interested in daily prayers and namaz.
When I was growing up in Pakistan, my dadi taught us how to say namaz and my nani taught all us siblings how to read the Quran. I would stand next to my dadi, when it was time to say namaz and repeat the actions and words with her. I learnt by following her and having her constant guidance. Namaz was one of the lessons I learnt from her along with many lifelong ones.
However, as children are being brought up in nuclear families and mostly away from their grandparents, more responsibilities fall on the parents. It is not just teaching namaz but how to get kids interested in daily prayers, which is the real challenge.
Most people will advice that model the behaviour for children, show enthusiasm in your daily prayers and make it a family activity. I agree with all these but the one tip that made my children interested in daily prayers everyday on top of all of these is our namaz bucket!
What is a namaz bucket you ask?
It is a very simple concept: Fill a basket or bucket with small things your children love such as stickers, small playdough kits, erasers, lollipops etc. Every time my children say namaz they get to pick one treat from the basket with their eyes closed.
We keep our namaz bucket at a prominent place right by the prayer mats. These days it’s part of our Ramadan corner.
[Read More: THE ULTIMATE LIST OF FREE RAMADAN PRINTABLES FOR KIDS]
I trust my children not to take out anything from it without permission or without having said namaz. A founding tenant of my parenting philosophy is to expect the best from my children and believe in their trustworthiness. They have always made me proud and stood by our expectations from them because they know we believe in the purity of their character.
So yes, this is our simple tip in how to get kids excited in daily prayers and namaz. We have been following it for five months now and it’s going really well. For reference my children are 9 and 5.
Did you notice the beautiful prayer mats the children are using? They were gifted to us by Malak from Yadawy Crafts (contact [email protected]), a Canadian entrepreneur bringing Egyptian hand-made quality products to Canada. She directly works with artisans and markets hand-embroidered and hand-painted products including cushions and prayer mats on Egyptian cotton. You can contact her via [email protected] or her Instagram account below:
Gorgeous prayer mats with engaging designs for children and a padded centre, definitely motivate children more. These will make a lovely gift for this Eid!
I hope our simple tips in how to get kids interested in daily prayers and namaz work for you also!
Here is a little peak into our namaz bucket:
Wow! lovely idea to have a bucket of goodies to motivate the child to pray. Excellent for building a habit, as when they grow, they will learn about the actual reward. Excellent post!
Thank you!