In today’s episode of My child and me series, we will be discussing the importance of connecting children to Role models and significant figures in Islam.

With the advent of social media and the celebrity culture lifestyle, children have taken cartoon characters and popular non-Muslim figures as their role models, completely adoring them and wishing to be like them. This could be because that is what they are being exposed to most hours of the day (on TV) OR they constantly hear such stories about these characters from their peers OR because the society as a whole reveres such characters (making birthday cakes with such characters, buying bags and dresses the photos of these characters for the kids... etc). Thus, as a child grows up, being affiliated with these characters is something that brings joy and a sense of ‘fitting in’.

Dear parent, instead of connecting your child to such figures and role models, why not connect them to the best of the best? The Prophets, Sahaabas, Sahaabiyyat, and the righteous of the past! Tell them the various stories of the Prophets… present the companions as heroes... present the seerah of the Prophet (SAW) and stories of the battles held… tell them the story of the person they were named after and so much more. Narrate to them in a fun and exciting way and watch how your child will be fond of such personalities and be eager to take after them! If you don’t know their stories, read up on them and tell them. Get them books so they can read and familiarize themselves with such great personalities.

Children are eager to have role models and are naturally drawn to values and ideas by a special person; thus, when they hold such righteous people as special, they would naturally love them and want to follow after their footsteps!

As Allah says after several aayat mentioning many of the Prophets: “ Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, and so from their guidance take an example.” (Al-An’aam: 90)

May Allah allow us to take after the footsteps of the righteous before us and successfully connect our children to such great personalities!