In Sha Allah.
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10 tips to get your child to pray with you…
As a Muslim Father, one of the greatest joys of my day is having my kids pray beside me and join in the praise and remembrance of their creator and mine. It might be easier to put off Salaah until the kids are older but the best habits are formed early in their childhood, why not make Salaah one of them.
After 4 and a half years of hands-on experience and 1 amazing wife at my side, this is what I have learnt. My 10 tips to get your kids to pray with you…
- Pray with them, make it a habit of praying in front of them when ever possible – I started praying with my son beside me when he was a month old.
- Don’t make Salaah a chore – Allow them to witness the joy and peace you experience through Salaah.
- Play with them before/after you pray – let the prayer room/area/rug be a place of comfort for them too.
- Don’t be quick to pack up the prayer mat -leave it out for the kids to explore.
- Pray together, pray as a family – Let Salaah also becomes an activity the whole family can participate in and benefit from.
- Answer their questions, talk about Salaah and feed their curiosity – they’ll be emulating your actions in no time.
- Let them know when it’s time to pray – make room for them beside you in case they decide to join in.
- Entice them with a little kids prayer mat – make it fun and interesting.
- Visit the mosque with them – this can sometimes be tricky but I’ll leave it for another post In Sha Allah.
- Lots and lots of praise – acknowledge and praise their efforts!
It’s not rocket science, but we often take these things for granted. It’s a matter of priorities and lots of patience.
Though the requirement to perform Salaah is only incumbent on kids at a later stage, it is our duty as parents to get them started on the straight path. Teach them to pray now and when they pray later, we too will benefit from it.
I pray that our children are the coolness of our eyes!
Coffee & small talk…
After ordering our usual Cappuccino + Babyccino, I decided to put my phone away and indulge in some Father-Son banter. A simple ‘what do you think about this place?’ was enough to spark a very interesting conversation.

The Minion drawing got us on topic and quickly moved on to Hot Wheels, big wheels and all topics wheels related. It was interesting and fun, probably took all of about 15 minutes and we we’re on our away again.He seemed to have enjoyed it and it reminded me of the many father-son dates we had when he was younger, when I was less occupied and when we actually took time out to just chill and do things together.
As they grow older and circumstances change, its easy to take things for granted and neglect the little things. Sometimes all it takes is a few minutes and a slight change of atmosphere but the father-son dates are absolutely essential and can make a world of a difference to both parties. Not to mention the brownie points scored when you let the Mrs have some time off too.
Show me the Bunny…
The merchants selling the dish were known as Banias (an Indian caste) which is where the term ‘bunny’ originated. Based on this, it is highly likely that the dish was invented on Grey Street in Durban at the G.C. Kapitan Vegetarian Restaurant that operated from 1912 to 1992 and was famous for its Beans Bunny.
Decorating cookies… like a man!
Ignoring the fact that I was surrounded by mothers and their kids having a go at decorating some cookies, I decided to join in and, together with my son came up with this little bearded master piece.
What is Modest Man Stuff?
Modest Man Stuff defined…
Modest: having or showing a moderate or humble estimate of one’s merits,importance, etc.; free from vanity, egotism, boastfulness, or great pretensions; free from ostentation or showy extravagance; having or showing regard for the decencies of behaviour, speech,dress, etc.; limited or moderate in amount or extent; unpretentious, unobtrusive, pure, virtuous; implying conformity to propriety and decorum, and a distaste for anything coarse or loud.
Man: an adult male person; the human individual as representing the species; a human being; a husband; a son; a father; a person.
Stuff: material, objects, items or subject matter of some unspecified kind; action or talk of a particular kind; informal; to cram oneself with food.
A work in progress…