With all our best intentions and actions, the family is not sufficient for the growth of our children’s spirituality and deen. A mini community is needed for them to feel normal and comfortable in, and to grow bold through.
A children group’s purpose is to do just that: support your child in his Islam, connect him with other Muslims and strengthen his ties to his Islamic roots. It aims to give him the confidence needed for going against the current of society, while nurturing his ability to interact with ‘others’ in an open, friendly, helpful manner.
You can start a children group that includes your own children but as they near or pass the age of ten, you are advised to have a friend or someone you trust takeover the group or take over the half that your child is in. Children learn from each other more easily than they do from adults, and will listen to an adult about honoring one’s parents more objectively than from you. How wonderful then, to have a peer and teacher network helping you with your job as a parent.
Most such groups share the following as their goals:
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- To develop a positive friendship/support group
- To foster a feeling of belonging
- To develop self esteem
- To teach skills that are meaningful to the age-group
- To teach them to interact confidently with anyone, despite being part of a minority group in a non-Muslim majority society
- To teach Islam (mostly by observing our behavior not by listening to talks)
- To enlist the help of a Muslim adult(s) in the upbringing of your child
- To develop ‘izza, a feeling of pride in Islam.
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Need support starting or running a children’s group? Visit our group pages and our Forums.