Sometimes parents look at prayer as a tool to encourage their children, promise to pass the entrance exam, or solve problems and say: If you pray, you will pass the exam or your wishes. You reach out, and your problems are solved, while this instrumental look causes the child to leave the prayer after a while because he does not get what he wants, and when the teenager is asked why he does not pray? He answers: Because I did not get what I asked for, I do not pray anymore, and this is the instrumental view of prayer that will have harmful consequences.
Therefore, in this research, six ways are recommended for children to pray.
Immerse your teen in love and affection. Just as you reward her for her academic advancement or acceptance at the university, express her praying in public and in front of others and define her as a privilege.
Sometimes parents look at prayer as a tool to encourage their child to pray, promise to pass the entrance exam, or solve problems and say: If you pray, you will pass the exam or your wishes. You reach out, and your problems are solved, while this instrumental look causes the child to leave the prayer after a while because he does not get what he wants, and when the teenager is asked why he does not pray? He answers: Because I did not get what I asked for, I do not pray anymore, and this is the instrumental view of prayer that will have harmful consequences.
One of the most important and constant concerns of many parents in praying for children, especially teenagers, is their laziness and boredom in this field, Like this mother whose two 11- and 14-year-old daughters are sometimes lazy in praying. Indeed, what strategies can be used to make children pray to increase their commitment to performing the divine duty in a lasting way?
In this regard, we will express the points and strategies that everyone will see good effects on their children's desire to pray by continuing to practice them.
1- Using pleasant technique:
It is usual for children to initially resist doing something daily and refuse to do it with behaviours such as laziness, forgetfulness, and making excuses. Still, if the parents' insistence is accompanied by pleasure, it leads to behaviour. It will be pleasant for the children.
Therefore, parents' attention, especially the mother's house, should be focused on providing conditions and pleasure; For example, if a teenager usually gets up reluctantly to pray in the morning, then he should be provided with the requirements for dawn beforehand. It is natural that if he goes to bed late at night, he will wake up late for the morning prayer, and naturally, he will not feel good about waking up. On the other hand, if he had rested in time last night, he would wake up better for the morning prayer.
If we focus on the conditions of prayer and making it pleasant for children in general, we will get better results; For example, we can arrange with the family to pray together in the congregation at a particular time. This creates a kind of social harmony among the family members that subconsciously make sessions in the family members to pray together. Of course, the children's patience should also be considered paying in the congregation, and it should not be long enough for the bored.
2- He considered the tiredness, hunger, and boredom of the children and had a plan for it:
Sometimes our child may be tired, hungry, or bored; here, we must relieve his tiredness, hunger or boredom, then invite him to prayer through pleasure. Therefore, it is necessary to know what our child's anxiety is and then to encourage him for prayer; Sometimes, for example, by talking to a teenager for ten minutes of playing with him or praising him, etc., the teenager gets bored, and then he can be expected to perform the prayer. Still, we should not tell him directly the prayer He should recite, but most of the time, we should try to give him this message indirectly, such as pointing, bringing the prayer rug, the call to prayer, announcing the congregational prayer at home, and so on.
3- Avoid overdoing the reminder:
Because he tends towards freedom and choice, man does not instinctively like to be forced to do something and to do something under duress. Therefore, he reacts negatively to the tasks imposed on him and resists, even though he knows it is helpful advice and reminders to individuals should be done as indirectly as possible.
4- We should be an excellent example in performing prayers for children:
The most significant investment in raising children should be in practical education. As soon as the
The call to prayer is heard; let the parents g in front of the children. Interestingly, much of the learning and repetition of behaviors in children occurs through repeated observation. Therefore, frequent mention of parents' prayers by children causes them to become role models.
5- Paying attention to children's relationships:
Adolescence is a period in which people are strongly influenced and inadvertently affected. Naturally, friendship and association with people who do not pray will eventually increase the field of communication between children and friends and religious places. Observing these cases reinforces positive role-modeling in children. Imam Ali (as) said: A good companion is a blessing and a bad companion is a calamity. "
6- Prayer should be made sacred for children:
In the presence of children, parents should praise the person who is praying, or for example, honor religious and religious figures in movies, so that little by little, a positive mentality is created in children and an inner tendency to perform religious behaviors and rituals. Could you activate them?