5 Ways to Motivate Children for Suhoor, Teach Fasting from an Early Age

Kapanlagi.com - Ramadan is a holy month eagerly awaited by Muslims worldwide because it includes special worship such as fasting and tarawih prayer. However, if you are a new parent who does not know how to motivate your child for sahur, you may feel like you are in trouble.

You don't need to panic because parents who don't know how to motivate their child for sahur is normal. Especially if it is your first experience of Ramadan with your child.

Teaching fasting to children can be done from a young age. Teaching children to fast is a way to give them an understanding of the obligation of Ramadan fasting.

Teaching children to wake up for sahur during fasting does not mean just telling them to endure hunger and thirst from dawn until sunset. You also need to give them an understanding of the importance of sahur and instill the spirit of worship from an early age. And that needs to be done with caution.

Because if the child is fussy, their mood will be ruined and they will be reluctant to eat sahur. That's why it is important to know how to motivate your child for sahur. Well, here are tips or ways to make children enthusiastic for suhoor that you can apply to avoid fussy drama every dawn.

1. Explain the Importance of Suhoor

Illustration (Credit: Freepik)

The first way to motivate children for suhoor is to provide an understanding of the importance of eating suhoor. Explain that eating suhoor is a recommended activity by the Prophet Muhammad. Inform them when they should wake up for suhoor and the consequences of skipping suhoor. Of course, you can provide explanations in a fun and engaging way.

You can find ways to motivate children for suhoor through illustrated stories, videos, and animated books. This means that you also have to maintain and be accountable for the story so that children will feel that suhoor is enjoyable throughout the 30 days of fasting.

In addition to the importance of suhoor, also explain the virtues of fasting, obligations, and what can be gained from fasting. Remind the child about sincerity in worship solely for Allah's sake. So when waking up for suhoor, the child understands that eating suhoor is done sincerely for Allah, not because of someone else's coercion. From this explanation, the child will be interested and curious to perform suhoor during fasting.

2. Give Rewards to Children

Illustration (Credit: Freepik)

When starting fasting, parents may discuss rewards for children regarding fasting. For example, if they can fast the whole day, they will be bought a bicycle, new toys, and other things that can attract the child's attention. Encouraging children to have the spirit of suhoor should also be accompanied by instilling the 'accepting consequences' during fasting.

Instead of forcing the child to wake up or scolding them, you can teach the child to accept the consequences if they do not have suhoor. If the child really cannot wake up and becomes fussy, let them continue sleeping and accept the consequence of feeling hungry while fasting.

If you have already provided an understanding of the obligation to fast, the child will hesitate to break their fast. If they feel hungry in the middle of fasting and have to break it, then the child must make up for the missed fast outside the month of Ramadan when others are not fasting and of course, they will lose the opportunity to receive a reward. This encourages the child to make sure not to miss their suhoor meal.

3. Teach Children to Sleep Earlier

Illustration (Credit: Freepik)

If children are used to sleeping at night, you can encourage them to sleep earlier so that you can wake up for suhoor (pre-dawn meal) feeling fresh and not sleepy. You should also explain to the child why they need to sleep earlier, so that the child understands.

This method of encouraging children to have the spirit of suhoor needs to be done because during fasting, sleep patterns will change. To ensure that the child's sleep hours are not reduced, invite them to sleep earlier at night. By doing so, they will get quality sleep even though they have to wake up earlier in the morning for suhoor.

Immediately invite the child to sleep after performing the tarawih prayer. To make them fall asleep quickly, you can read them a bedtime story or tell them a sleep-inducing tale. This way, the child will not easily feel sleepy when woken up for suhoor.

In addition, also regulate the child's nap time. Taking a nap for too long will make the child easily stay awake at night. Let the child engage in activities during the day and have a short nap so that they can easily fall asleep at night.

4. Preparing Sahur Together with Children

Illustration (Credit: Freepik)

When sahur arrives, you can invite your little one to prepare sahur. Start by preparing things that do not burden the child, such as preparing plates, accompanying cooking, and making food that looks interesting to the child so that they are impressed and enjoy sahur.

By giving the opportunity to participate in preparing their favorite menu, the child will feel enthusiastic about having sahur. This way of making the child excited for sahur will also increase their appetite. Prepare the child's favorite food and make sure their favorite menu is rich in nutrition and vitamins, so that the child has enough stamina to carry out fasting.

5. Limit the Use of Gadgets

Illustration (Credit: Freepik)

Many cases of gadget addiction have affected children in this digital era. In addition to being a way to make children excited for sahur, the Ramadan moment can also be the right time to reduce this addiction. Before bedtime, limit the use of gadgets for children so that they can sleep early.

Electronic gadget screens emit strong blue light. This blue light, after entering the retina, is converted into neurological signals that create the illusion of daylight in the pineal gland. As a result, blue light can disrupt the production of melatonin, a hormone released at night to help sleep.

During the night, make sure the child does not play with gadgets. This can make the child fall asleep faster and get quality sleep. As a result, the child will be easier to wake up for sahur.

So, KLovers, those are some ways to make children excited for sahur that you can follow. One thing to pay attention to is the communication pattern that you usually apply to your child. Therefore, the above tips can be modified according to the language and compromise methods that you usually practice.

(kpl/ans)