The concept of fasting should be explained to children up to the age of 6 with concrete words, not abstract words. It is more meaningful to make statements such as "I keep it because of my belief, it is an act of worship or fasting is obligatory" for children over the age of 6. Until the age of 6, more emphasis on "health and happiness" helps children understand better. One of the important points is that scary expressions should be avoided. Every issue related to faith and worship should be explained to the child with love.
WHAT DOES YOUR CHILD SEE WHEN YOU ARE FASTING?
An issue that is as important as explaining the concept of fasting to children is how you experience fasting. Adults should remember the Ramadans of childhood. Was there love, joy and affection, or were there parents who were angry with hunger? If you fast with love, joy, patience, play and work, your child will always love fasting and remember these months with love.
IF LITTLE CHILDREN WANT TO FAST...
Our religion has given a clear and biological explanation about the age at which fasting should be done. Fasting is obligatory for those who have entered puberty. Our main topic is to seek answers to the questions of whether children up to this age should fast and how to approach them if they want to fast. It is physiologically very difficult for young children to fast all day. Our culture has found a good formula for children to gradually get used to fasting; “Boat Fasting”. Boat fasting means that children fast for a certain period of time. If they want, they can fast from morning to noon, or from noon to evening.
HOW DOES FASTING AFFECT THE CHILD'S PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT?
This point is very important. In the early 1970s, an interesting experiment that went down in history was carried out at Stanford University: The Marshmallow Experiment.
600 children between the ages of 4-6 participated in the experiment. The experimenter enters a room with the child. In the room there is a table, a chair and a wonderful looking chocolate on a plate. And he says to the child: “I have some work to do outside, if you wait until I go and eat the chocolate on the plate and wait until I come back, I will give you another chocolate.” Children who can wait for 15 minutes are given the chocolate on the plate. Another chocolate is given to him. The difference is observed between the patient children who waited for the experimenter to come back to the room and the children who could not wait for the experimenter to come and ate the chocolate. Significant positive differences are observed in children who can wait compared to those who cannot wait.
But what happens when these children grow up?
A follow-up study was carried out in 1990. Conclusion; In the experiment, all of the children who could control themselves had higher academic and social success than the children who could not control themselves and ate the chocolate. It is an important opportunity for people to be able to control themselves, postpone their desires, be patient and strong-willed, that is, to develop internal discipline. Isn't this the most important thing that children of today need?
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