How Moms can Prepare for a Stress Free Ramadan with Kids

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If you are overwhelmed and wondering how to have a stress free Ramadan with toddlers and little kids, this post is to help you minimize the juggle of managing the kids, home and the ibadah. 

The last thing any mom wants is to be running around trying to get her act together.

Oh wait! I forgot to…

Where is…

When can I…

The baby is crying and hungry and you have not even started dinner. How will you ever get Iftaar ready in time if baby is stuck on your hip all day?

Is it too late to start preparing now?

Can you relate? If you have little toddlers and babies in the household, then I am sure you are worrying about ways you can minimize the stress of juggling the kids and Ramadan.

• How can I  have more time for Ibadah?
• How can I involve the kids in the Ramadan spirit?
• Is it possible when I have two under two?

If you are asking yourself these questions then I may be able to help you!

I have had four children in 6 years. Mostly my children are 2 years or less apart. You can imagine how hard it must have been for me. I am sharing some tips that I have tested time and again with confidence!

My children are a little older now, my struggle is a little different, but here is what has worked for me to juggle kids and ibadah:

How to Prepare for a Productive Ramadan with Kids

If you are a new mother and have never done this before, then fear not. Start preparing now.

1. Prepare and get into the mindset.

It  doesn’t matter if Ramadan is a few days away or not, just start getting yourself ready today because trust me, Ramadan time is like no other time of the year. 

Have you done your Ramadan shopping? 

I meant the grocery shopping… Start there first. Do it now so that you don’t have to go while fasting or at the last moment before the moon is sighted.

You can use online apps or do online ordering so that everything is taken care of without you having to go to the shops.

If you are reading this a few weeks before Ramadan, be smart and save money and time! Do your shopping for groceries and Eid while the offers are on! Buy those gifts in advance too! If you can pack them and ready all the better!

2. Write your Ramadan Goals and To do List

The best way to tackle overwhelm is to make a list of the things that you have on your mind and then work on them one by one. 

Make a list off all the things that you need to do for Ramadan. Whether it is shopping or even the duas that you want to make while fasting, write it down. Think about everything that is bothering you, make a list of those too. It really does help to see what is on your mind. 

Once you have your list made, arrange it so you know what you can start doing one by one. 

3. Prepare your children.

The next thing to do is to talk to your children that Ramadan is coming. Children can sense the excitement that something is about to happen. You may be busy preparing and feel that they don’t know yet but trust me, children know when things are different. If you want them to cooperate with you, prepare them now.

An easy way to do so is to start reading books. Here is a list of books based on Ramadan.

A Ramadan countdown calendar is a must. They will feel more involved. You can get crafty and create your own or be simple and download a printable one. 

We did this simple crafty calendar when my children were very tiny. I had three children of three different age groups – a preschooler, a toddler and a baby at that time. It was fun to involve them in an activity but even more so because my kids were so excited to move the ring on it.

The next year, we started by decorating the windows and then doors. We placed cut outs of Mosques and moon and stars on the windows.

RELATED: But wait… if you feel stressed even thinking that you MUST decorate and craft with kids, I want you to read this post first.

Last year we had a Printable Ramadan Calendar with stickers. The children each got their own calendar. They were so excited to be able to place a sticker on the date.

This year we put up this display (picture above) 40 days before Ramadan. 

We also have this beautiful Days till Ramadan frame. It is part of our Ramadan Decorations pack which has Ramadan buntings and other details.

4. Get their Routine in order

The next thing I highly recommend doing, is to start tweaking their schedule to set their timings right for Ramadan.

We all know how our timings change in Ramadan. Along with our routine, we impact our children’s too. No matter whether you have set a routine for your child or not, all children have a schedule that they follow. Whether you follow a routine yourself or not, your child will follow the same timings that they are used to.

Come Ramadan all this will change. You will get up for Suhoor in the middle of the night. At their bedtime, you may be breaking your fast.

How will your children cope? What about Taraweeh? So, look into it now. Think about how you can gently change your child’s schedule now so that they are more comfortable with the time change then.

Recommended reading: How to tweak your child’s schedule to adjust to Ramadan Timings.

If you have never had a routine, I highly recommend looking into our 3 year old child routine here and the 12-18 month old routine (get it from the free Library) for ideas. 

5. Start Planning Meals.

While you are preparing the children for Ramadan, start planning the meals too.

Plan not only what YOU will eat but also for the kids.

This is very important and really a sanity saver because in Ramadan, when you’re fasting, your child may not have the same meals that you are eating. When a child is low on sleep or hungry, that is when the tantrums and meltdowns usually happen so we need to prepare for this.

You cannot be cooking all the time. So for this reason, make a list of all the foods your child can have during Ramadan. Quick meals, favorite foods, easy recipes and snack ideas that you can have available that are no brainy.

Click here to read all about managing the kitchen and cooking when you have babies and toddler.

6. Plan Kids Activities

So now, your children know that Ramadan is coming, you know when they will sleep and eat and you have ideas to feed them when they are hungry, what will you entertain them with?

If you are a hands on mum like me and love motherhood, then I am sure you can’t wait to craft and do stuff with them! That’s great but… Have you decided what you will do?

Planning your child’s activities for Ramadan will not only make sure that they are busy but also buy you time. You are also helping them learn about the joy of Ramadan. It isn’t like a few activities that you can do for a few days, you will need ideas for the whole month. But remember, your child may get bored if you haven’t tested the activities before or the ideas you chose are not age appropriate.

For this reason, make a list now. Plan your child’s activities.

Even if you have an activity plan for your child, you need to have a back up plan with ideas that you can use when you need them to play by themselves.

I am talking about mess free activities that do not require your presence. Personally, with two little toddlers and older kid, juggling a home and fasting, I will want them to play by themselves for sometime so I can have some me time too. Having mess free ideas is a must.

Here is a mess free activity that my toddlers and preschoolers adored. 

7. Plan on Printing some printables.

Printables are a mom’s best friends. We are not talking about just coloring pages but everything. Crafts, decor, writing practice, math games, stuff they can do and enjoy on their own. You should be able to give these to them and have them enjoy it for sometime. Printable activities are great for your child to not just learn but play and discover too. 

I love creating busy bags and busy books for my children. Every time I print out a new set of printables, it is like a new toy for them!

GET THE MUSLIM KIDS RESOURCES BUNDLES

Also check: Click here for Ramadan themed printable activities and crafts You can also try some games that we have created for our own children.

• Lanterns Telling Time Puzzles
• Dates counting mats
• Lanterns playdough mats
• Five Pillars of Islam Counting puzzles

More Ideas: I have a huge list of ABC printables in this post. 

Did your know that your child can help you in Ramadan too? No matter how old or young they are, your child will really benefit by doing some chores. Even children as young as 18 months old can be involved in our housework.

As my husband says: ‘put some responsibility on their little shoulders and they will walk in a straight line’. 😀

Here is a list of age appropriate chores that your children can help you with.

8. Hide those toys or purge some!

This is my secret to sanity around my home. Kids don’t play with all the toys all the time. Also come Eid, they will get new stuff, right?

Pre-Ramadan , I feel is the best time of the year to hide those old toys or get rid of the broken ones!

Word of advice though: Don’t do it with them. (bad experience.) 😐

Here’s a list of some good Islamic toys that you  can order.

9. Take care of yourself too!

So far the tips above were for handling your child/children. Now, what can you do to have a stress free Ramadan yourself?

Sleep on time.

Ramadan for most of us means late nights unfortunately, but when you have kids, be smart. You need your sleep if you want to function properly. So go to bed on time and try to aim for a small nap for yourself too. Sleep when the kids nap!

10. Pray with the Adhan.

 I don’t know about you but I have found that as soon as the time for the prayers start till the time I pray, I am always in stress. I am always afraid that I may miss the prayer or I forget if I have prayed. For this reason, I always advise moms to pray with the adhan.

Your children learn by watching you so this is also a positive lesson you’re giving them. My children have all learnt to pray with the adhan because they see us praying.

This Ramadan, pledge to start your child on this life long habit of praying with the adhan. Here is the story about how I started my first child on his Salah journey.

11. Drink lots of water.

Do you know about Ramadan fatigue? Your body aches, your lethargic and have no motivation to do anything? That is because your body is not getting enough water. Breastfeeding or moms with toddlers suffer the most but even those with big kids get tired, you know.

How many glasses of water do you drink between iftaar and suhur in Ramadan? Start now. Get into the habit of drinking more water now so you can continue on in Ramadan.

12. I also advise to take multivitamins.

Vitamin C and D can really help you with that fatigue and a little more iron for mums is always good. Read this post on what natural multivitamins I take and recommend to others.

13. Involve the kids in your spiritual activities. 

As I was saying above, when you are praying, put your child next to you or have them pray on their own prayer rug. When you read the Holy Quran, read to them or recite in a beautiful voice so they can learn. I have found Ramadan time to be the best for teaching them little Duas and surahs. Even children as small as 18 months old will learn.

You can have a theme and plan your child activities along it too. When you read to them, read Islamic stories or stories of the prophet.

We had a A-Z of Akhlaaq series a few years ago when I taught my children about Islamic manners and morals. My youngest was 18months old and I had a three year old who enjoyed the activities and books too.

Another year, we did the Alhamdulillah for Series for the full 30 days. It was so much fun!

Last year, we had Kids in the Kitchen in Ramadan Series where I let my kids help in the kitchen with their own dish. It was fun and they were so happy to be playing active roles in serving others.

14. Prioritize your time in the Kitchen.

When it comes to preparing for Suhur and iftaar, sadly, inspite of having little kids, mothers cook so much food. Be smart. It is a good to make different foods for your family to celebrate the Ramadan spirit but you don’t have to have twenty items on the table every day.

I understand you are trying to teach your culture but you can choose to have just a few things too. It is we mothers who set the bar too high for ourselves and then complain when we can’t keep up to it.

There is no competition to be better than your sister in law or your neighbors.

Don’t spend all your time in the kitchen. Use it for prayer and show your children what the REAL Ramadan looks like.

Recommended reading: How to save time in the kitchen when you have little children.

These are 5 ways to preparing for Ramadan in a stress free way.

I’ll repeat:

I don’t believe in doing everything at the same time but I do believe that memories and the joy of Ramadan is in the little things that we do for our families. Our children watch us and learn. If you take on Ramadan as stressful and something of a big deal to be afraid of, you are passing that on to your child. Don’t you think so? Wishing you a blessed month! <3

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