Parenting the Ramadan way

By Samar Owais

Every Ramadan, my life goes through an extreme change. From waking up as early as 3am to prepare food for Suhoor to having a social life revolving around Iftars, things become crazier and calmer at the same time.

As a child, Ramadan was the month of excitement and fun and new experiences. It was all about waking up early for Suhoor , eating till Fajr and then hitting bed immediately after praying only to drag myself out of bed for school a couple of hours later. It was about sleeping, praying and waiting for Maghrib so I could break my fast and eat. That was the sum of a typical day in Ramadan for me.

Now, as an adult and a parent, it’s about so much more.

It’s about the boring, responsible things like waking up early to prepare Suhoor.

It’s about finding ways to teach my daughter (by my words and actions) the meaning and importance of Ramadan.

It’s about focusing more on my prayers and less on what mischief my daughter is getting into while I pray.

It’s about being more patient, kind and pious than ever before.

Ramadan is now more about being a better Muslim than taking advantage of the changed routine.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Ramadan isn’t still fun. Our family Iftars are notoriously high on fun and laughter. We get together, break our fast, eat, pray, drink lots of tea, and generally hang out together as often as we can.

As a work at home mother, I cut down my working hours but still need to meet the occasional deadline. Unfortunately, I need two things to work: a full stomach and a bit of quiet. Both are impossible to find when you’re fasting and have a toddler at home. Which is why, one of my favourite things to do (when I can pull it off) is to stay up all night working and go to bed after suhoor.

Of course, staying up all night means I’m a bit of a zombie during the day but the good news is that I spend my morning sleeping in late and take naps during the day while my daughter gets away with mischief she normally wouldn’t.

I’m a lot less finicky and she has a lot more fun.

The way I see it, Ramadan needs to be fun for adults and kids alike. Fasting is hard enough; if you can’t make it exciting for yourself and your family, you’re not doing it right.

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