Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

05 March 2025

4-minute read

Sameera Bamath advocates for keeping young children busy in Ramadhaan. Previously a Radio Islam presenter on the Butterfly Corner that subsequently moved to Hilal TV, Sameera also runs a preschool and a daycare in Lenasia and a speech and drama company, has now written a children’s book named after her program.

Sameera says that “small traditions” you teach your children will become part of their routine in Ramadhaan as they grow up. Encourage them to do good deeds and praise them for their efforts. Inculcate the love for fasting in them. Build a value system and the discipline to obey through fasting and teach them to focus on the sense of accomplishment at the end of each fast. Kids want to be included, so foster community spirit around Ramadhaan. Build confidence by having open conversations with your kids and teach them about self-control and gratitude. To create empathy, explain to them how children in places like Syria and Gaza are suffering and barely have any food to eat.

Early involvement gives kids a sense of excitement and belonging. Involve your kids in as many small activities as you can, whether it be in the kitchen, in the garden or around the house. In the kitchen, give your child some dough to roll out, and cook it for them to eat. Get kids to make their own Ramadhaan calendars. In the car, a “busy box” that has activities like stickers, colours and a colouring book is a must. Add Ramadhaan into sensory play – make Ramadhaan lanterns, colour in a Musallah on a sheet of paper, draw a tree, help them count the dates as they put it on the plate, and touch and explore, to create positive associations with the month of Ramadhaan. Encourage daily acts of kindness – show your little one how fill a bottle with water and freeze it and give it to someone on the side of the road when you’re out together. Reflect with them about what they are grateful for and praise them, even when they’re struggling.

Storytelling and role-playing can teach young kids about Ramadhaan. “Any story they listen to brings them closer to a value,” says Sameera, which helps them to connect with morals and brings lessons to life. Focus on stories from Islamic history with small values that relate to them, or stories that have themes on generosity, kindness and patience. Role playing allows children to pretend to carry out all the good deeds that you read to them about.

“It’s not a competition,” she says. Don’t compare and contrast with other kids but rather make fasting about personal growth. We need to teach our kids the values that we were taught, before outside influences take over.

“You have their childhood in your hands,” so its possible to inculcate great habits from young. From the age of 4 or 5, when core memories are being built, it is important to keep kids connected and engaged with the month of Ramadhaan to build positive memories that become a part of them. Start them off fasting from an early age, because it makes them feel included. Involve them in salaah, dua time, and Quran recitation. Sameera says that while “kids hate routine, they thrive in routine.”

It’s not just about changing your mindset, but also about changing your intention. Put the intention of ibaadah into mundane tasks so that everything that you do gets rewarded. Sameera suggests drawing up a list of duas, salaah, Quran targets, cooking time, and other tasks that you have to fit into your day like school rounds. In that list, include things like time to feed kids, time to put a toddler off to sleep, time to help with homework.

“If you stress, panic, and show anxiety,” your children will learn the same. Whereas if you show patience, gratitude and kindness in your daily life, your children will model your behaviour.

Listen to the full interview with Faaiza Munchi on the New Horizons program.