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Children Learn to Fast for Ramadan


Doctors say children must be careful

Hind Abu Shoushah’s grandparents threw her a party the very same day they learned that the seven year old had fasted from sunrise to sunset without even a glass of water. She and her family traveled from the West Bank city of Jericho to Abu Dis for iftar, the traditional meal that breaks the fast every night during the holy month of Ramadan.
After the family ate, they threw Hind a party where she was treated like Miss America and even given a crown to wear.

“The whole family paid attention to her when she fasted the first time,’ Hind’s mother Amneh told The Media Line. “She was so proud of herself and found the situation to be very encouraging.”

Now eight, Hind has already started fasting this year as well.

“Ramadan is something so nice because we all come together,” Hind told The Media Line.

Ramadan, which began Sunday with the sighting of the new moon, is the holy month for Muslims. They fast from sunrise to sunset, don’t smoke and don’t have sex. The idea is to purify the soul and refocus attention on God. Muslims also give charity to the poor during this month.

To fast, especially during the long hot days of summer is not easy. Sheikh Abu Ali of Eizariyya near Jerusalem, says fasting teaches self-discipline.

“Fasting raises the will of a human being to do things that ‘he knows will be good for him in the afterlife,” Abu Ali told The Media Line. “Because he or she does not eat, does not drink the whole day, he will also not lie or steal while fasting.”

Muslims are obligated to begin fasting when they hit puberty, he says.

“It could be 12, it could be 13. They are not punished by God if they do not fast before that age.  But in order to teach them and get them  used to fasting and praying, we teach them to start fasting before that age,” he said.

His eight year old daughter, Aya, began fasting when she was just six years old.

“I did not force her to do that,” the sheikh insists.” I even told her that if she feels hungry or thirsty, that she should go to the kitchen. Why? Because she is a child. Every day I would ask her if she is tired, hungry or thirsty. But they love to fast because they see us do that,” he said.

While it is more common nowadays to see Muslim children fasting before they hit puberty, Palestinian pediatrician Dr. Sami Nabulsi does not recommend it. He says parents should be very cautious when encouraging them to fast.

“Children need extra calories. They have extra energy so they have larger demands for calories compared to adults,” Nabulsi told The Media Line.

He also said that if children are going to fast, parents should discourage them from eating foods rich in sugar during the evening iftar meal. Instead they should concentrate on foods like vegetables, fruits, high protein diets, meat and wheat cereals. Extra amounts of water are crucial, especially during the summer. Nabulsi says parents should steer their children away from energy drinks and soda and concentrate on natural juices and water.

As for adults, Nabulsi says some can even gain weight despite fasting for 30 days from dawn to dusk.

“Some people fast all day and then consume large quantities of food, not following any kind of diet.  They will gain weight in Ramadan instead of losing it,” he said. “But if you follow the recommendations, what food you will eat, how much you will take in, exercise which is not against Ramadan, then you lose weight.”

Manal Samara, a Palestinian living in Saudi Arabia, says she misses her family during Ramadan. But in some ways, observing the holy month is easier in Saudi Arabia than in the West Bank.
 
“You can buy all of your groceries in one place unlike going store to store in Palestine and the shops stay open real late here,” she wrote to The Media Line. During Ramadan, she says, many new Arab television shows air for the first time/

Samara moved to Riyadh four years ago with her husband Shadi and their two small children. Although her children are too young to fast, Samara says she and her husband still teach them about Ramadan.

That and they see ‘the atmosphere of Ramadan’ with their father going to the mosque to pray the Taraweeh prayer (special Ramadan prayers prayed after Iftar), and friends coming over for Iftar.    

In the West Bank city of Jericho, maximum temperatures can  reach 116 Fahrenheit in the summer. Amneh Abu Shoushah says that even children who don’t fast should participate in the iftar meal. She serves soup, salad, cucumbers and yoghurt as well as other dishes that are easy on the stomach.

This year their seven year old son Talal will start fasting.  He wanted to fast last year but she encouraged him to wait a year.

“He came to us after he saw his sister Hind was going to fast and asked why does she get to fast and I don’t?” Abu Shoushah said.