Muslim children typically aren鈥檛 expected to fast during Ramadan until they reach puberty. But often kids will want to start earlier because they see everyone else abstaining from food and water from sunrise to sunset 鈥� followed by their community gathering to break their fast together 鈥� and they want to participate.
鈥淚 really wanted to get in on the fun,鈥� said Raahim Sattar, who started fasting when he was around 7. He鈥檚 an 18-year-old Danville native currently learning Arabic at the Qalam seminary in Dallas. He has older twin brothers 鈥� and a competitive streak: 鈥淚 was like, hey, maybe I can do it better than them.鈥�
Fatima Amawi, a 16-year-old volunteer from Orlando, Fla., remembers getting a special cake during the Eid celebration after completing her first full fast at age 9.
Years later, she still finds Ramadan fasting manageable. She drinks a cup of milk each day before the fast, because she grew up seeing her grandfather do that. She takes a break from her competitive horseback riding.
鈥淚n this day and age, there are a lot of things that can really take your mind off of hunger,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just read a book or watch a TV show.鈥�
In some ways, it鈥檚 easier for kids to fast because they haven鈥檛 built up as many bad habits, said Ussma Ghani, dietitian and holistic nutritionist at . They don鈥檛 have coffee addictions. They have endless amounts of energy. They鈥檙e also less bound to social norms, so if they are tired, they鈥檒l just lie down anywhere and sleep.
But once kids get older, they often have to juggle their religious obligations with academics, extracurricular activities and other social pressures. In Muslim countries 鈥� or Islamic schools in the U.S. 鈥� entire schedules shift to accommodate Ramadan. But the holy month can be trickier to navigate in settings where peers and others may not understand Islam.
The Times talked to youths, parents, teachers and health experts to gather advice on how to support school-age children during Ramadan.
Fasting for the first time
鈥淚t鈥檚 honestly up to the kids and up to the family what they want to do,鈥� said Aisha Aslam, the acting principal of , a private school founded by the .
Kids can start by fasting for a few hours, by skipping lunch or by fasting only on the weekends. Aslam鈥檚 oldest daughter Aceile Almutawa, 10, started doing 鈥渂aby fasts鈥� three years ago and gradually eased into a full fast.
Salma Rashad, 19, a Cal Poly Pomona student, remembers crying as a kid when her parents told her she was too young to fast. 鈥淪o when I started, my mom would say, 鈥極K, you can fast until 11 a.m.鈥� At that age, it鈥檚 like a challenge. I really really wanted to make it until 1 p.m., then 3 p.m.鈥�
generally agreed that you want to be careful with kids who are fasting. 鈥淭he last thing we want is for them to be losing weight when they should be growing,鈥� said Sumiya Khan, a registered dietitian and co-founder of .
But at the same time, kids are resilient and they can gain a lot from participating in spiritual traditions, said Shamila Malik, a registered dietitian at Fresenius Medical Care North America.
also applies to kids. Balanced and nutritious meals 鈥� with a focus on protein, fiber, complex carbs and healthy fats 鈥� will give them more sustained energy and avoid sugar crashes. Khan recommends supplementing their Ramadan diet with multivitamins, 鈥渏ust to give a little bit of insurance.鈥� Hydration during the times they can have water is crucial.
Aslam was surprised how her kids took to fasting pretty easily and didn鈥檛 appear to be overly exhausted. But each child is different, she said, and it鈥檚 important not to compare.
鈥淚 think the struggle is more them just wanting things,鈥� said Aslam. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not so much that they need it, but, 鈥業 want this chocolate because I see it in the grocery store.鈥� Or they get too excited and want to play so much, and it鈥檚 like, 鈥楴o, no, it鈥檚 85 degrees outside, do something inside instead of going out and running around.鈥欌��
Sattar, who plans to study law after he finishes his studies at the seminary, encourages young people, especially kids who aren鈥檛 yet required to fast, to not be too hard on themselves. He recalls a time when he was supposed to be fasting and absentmindedly popped some of his friend鈥檚 Goldfish crackers into his mouth, panicked and found the nearest trash can to spit it out.
鈥淎n accidental snack is a gift from God,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust enjoy it, think of it as a booster and finish your fast strong.鈥�
Don鈥檛 push kids beyond their capacity, Malik said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 want them to associate Ramadan with anxiety or stress,鈥� she said. 鈥淐reate memories, do arts and crafts, decorate the home, and include them in food prep.鈥�
That will also help distract them from feeling hungry, Aslam said.
How to talk about fasting with your kids
Focus on the intention of Ramadan fasting. 鈥淩amadan is meant to be a time of reflection, discipline and gratitude for our blessings,鈥� Khan said. 鈥淎nd acknowledging that we are fortunate that we can break our fast with a beautiful meal with family and friends. Not everyone has that opportunity or privilege.鈥�
While it鈥檚 important to monitor your kids, it鈥檚 also a good opportunity to teach them to pay attention to their bodies.
鈥淒oes their body need rest? Does their body need nutrition? It鈥檚 nice for kids to realize, 鈥楻ight now, I鈥檓 hungry.鈥� 鈥業 think right now, I鈥檓 tired,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淪o they know, 鈥極K, let me sit down a little bit.鈥� 鈥楲et me drink some water.鈥欌��
Being calm, spending time with myself and reflecting on who I am 鈥� that's a big component about Ramadan. And sometimes we don't give our kids a chance to do that.
Fatema Jivanjee-Shakir, a licensed clinical social worker who works at the , recommends adults refrain from praising kids for not eating because it can lead to an unhealthy preoccupation with food.
Jivanjee-Shakir, who works with patients with eating disorders, also advises monitoring how young people 鈥� especially those going through puberty 鈥� are talking about their bodies and making sure that the practice of fasting is contained within the holy month.
Make sure kids understand that there are valid exemptions from fasting, including illness. Eating disorders are illnesses, Jivanjee-Shakir said.
鈥淚slamic doctrine really encourages the protection of the body,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o if you鈥檙e protecting your body by not fasting because it harms your mental or physical health, then you are in fact honoring Islam and you are honoring the religion. It doesn鈥檛 make you a bad Muslim if you鈥檙e not able to fast.鈥�
Advice for kids navigating school
Ramadan was a big deal in Rashad鈥檚 house when she was a kid. She grew up in Chino Hills and attended Islamic private school. But when she started going to public school, she found that not a lot of kids knew about it.
So she鈥檇 invite her non-Muslim friends over to see the decorations 鈥� the lanterns and lights 鈥� and to break fast with her family. Her mom would jokingly compliment her on how she had 鈥渢rained鈥� all her friends to understand their culture.
Rashad, who started a during the pandemic, said many of her mentees are nervous about fasting at school. She advises young people to find the other Muslims at their school, if possible. 鈥淭hat makes it a lot easier to fast when you have others there with you, to lift each other up,鈥� she said.
But your supportive community is not limited to those who share your faith, she said. This is especially important for students who may not have that many Muslim classmates.
鈥淎 lot of youth, they tend to hear the horror stories, and all the negative things that [happens to] our community,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut in reality, a lot of us at that age are very welcoming and accepting of all their friends.鈥�
Abeer Shinnawi, a veteran middle school social studies teacher who is the program lead at , agreed and added that a trusted teacher can help too.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e too shy or don鈥檛 feel comfortable speaking, maybe have that teacher who can help you promote 鈥� if that鈥檚 what you want to do 鈥� or teach your peers,鈥� Shinnawi said.
How parents and teachers can help
Help students create a schedule.
It鈥檚 not just the fasting that makes Ramadan a challenge. Kids are also up before sunrise to eat. Then there are taraweeh prayers throughout the night 鈥� which are not required, but are an integral part of observing Ramadan in some families.
Rashad and Sattar said they ended up adjusting when they studied because it was hard to concentrate once they got more dehydrated in the afternoons.
Zakia Pathan, special education teacher at Discovery Charter School in San Jose, encourages teachers and parents to find ways to cut back on activities for their Muslim students during Ramadan if they can.
鈥淚t鈥檚 supposed to be a time where you鈥檙e simplifying your life,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing calm, spending time with myself and reflecting on who I am 鈥� that鈥檚 a big component about Ramadan. And sometimes we don鈥檛 give our kids a chance to do that.鈥�
Ask teachers and coaches for accommodations.
Here are some that can help students who are fasting:
- Options for P.E. and sports: Some students will have the stamina to participate while fasting, but others will need to take a break or do lighter versions of the activities. Watch for dehydration and exhaustion.
- Options for other places to go during lunch break: Some kids might want to sit with their friends, even if they鈥檙e not eating, because they think the time passes faster, said Sawsan Jaber, a high school English teacher at East Leyden High School in Illinois. Others may want to rest, nap, pray in private or work on homework in the library, a career center or a classroom.
- Flexibility with homework and exams: A lighter homework load or the ability to make up tests could be helpful. 鈥淚t helps if teachers can be empathetic and understand sometimes the kids鈥� stamina might not be there or they might not be able to fully engage in the way they normally do,鈥� Jaber said.
Why it鈥檚 important to be proactive, not just reactive.
Amina Shahid, who teaches English at Miller Middle School in Cupertino, Calif., recently polled her Muslim students and found that a lot of the kids didn鈥檛 tell their non-Muslim teachers that they were observing Ramadan.
鈥淭hey feel like their teachers don鈥檛 know what it is and then they feel awkward telling them they need accommodations,鈥� she said. 鈥淥r they鈥檒l feel nervous about having to make up tests or make up the mile run in P.E., so they鈥檒l just do it even though they are fasting.鈥�
It's important to have some level of understanding, just like you would want for Christmas or Easter.
Jaber said it鈥檚 important to recognize that many students 鈥� and possibly their parents too 鈥� will need help advocating for themselves.
鈥淢y parents are Palestinian refugees,鈥� said Jaber, who also consults about how to create more equity for students of color through Education Unfiltered. 鈥淪o their experience growing up was so different from mine that even if they wanted to be my advocate [at school] or if they wanted to be involved in my education, no one ever gave them those tools to be able to partake. So a lot of our children today may not have the support for a variety of different reasons.鈥�
Use the month as an opportunity to teach.
鈥淭here鈥檚 over 2 billion Muslims around the world who are celebrating and commemorating at this time,鈥� said Maimona Afzal Berta, a school board member in the San Jose area who became the first hijabi Muslim elected to office in California in 2018.
One reason she ran for office is that her classroom 鈥� at a school in a diverse neighborhood 鈥� was vandalized with hate speech shortly after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. That was a wake-up call.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to have some level of understanding, just like you would want for Christmas or Easter,鈥� she said.
Administrators can also send all-staff emails reminding their school community about Ramadan and offering ways they can help. Jaber penned that鈥檚 been widely shared. Educators can also , written by Aya Khalil and illustrated by Huda Fahmy.
Though some students, like Rashad, will jump at the chance to teach their peers about Ramadan, Jaber cautioned against putting Muslim students on the spot.
Talk to a student and their family privately first, Pathan said. You don鈥檛 want to make assumptions. But, 鈥渋f the child is willing, or if the family is willing to share, that鈥檚 a great way to introduce it into your classroom,鈥� she said.
Thomas Cendejas 鈥� who teaches religion at Loyola High School in 鈥� remembered a year when the students at his all-boys Roman Catholic school were excited to learn about food for Eid al-Fitr. At the end of Ramadan, a Muslim student鈥檚 parents brought in pastries for the entire classroom to share.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning how to be sensitive to various traditions, and it鈥檚 nice when it comes up in natural and organic ways,鈥� he said.
Rashad encourages her mentees to be open to answering questions. 鈥淚 know a lot of other Muslims would say the opposite,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檇 say, 鈥楴o, I鈥檓 fasting. I don鈥檛 want to deal with questions.鈥� But I honestly think answering those questions from the start clears up so many misconceptions, and it makes it easier in the long run.鈥�
鈥淒on鈥檛 be embarrassed,鈥� she added. 鈥淧art of your identity is your religion. It鈥檚 something that you can own.鈥�
