Look! There is the new moon in the sky.

It’s time for Ramadan to begin. Follow along with one young boy as he observes the Muslim holy month with his family.

This year, the narrator is finally old enough to fast, and readers of all ages will be interested as he shares his experiences of this special holiday in Islam.

You can get it here

Follow the story of Laila, a curious young Muslim girl that wants to learn about Ramadan. Through a fun story for both children and parents, allow your kids to start comprehending religious concepts while also sparking their curiosity for further knowledge about their Islamic religion.

Enjoy with your little one a unique and creative journey that will introduce her/him to one of the five pillars of the religion and offer your child a positive perception of the Islamic holy month of mercy, the Ramadan. A must-have children’s story that shouldn’t be missing from any family’s bookcase or Islamic books’ collection!

You can get it here.

Join Rashad as he learns the history of the holiday, discussing the customs and the celebration Eid al-Fitr.

Get it here. 

Lailah solves her problem with help from the school librarian and her teacher and in doing so learns that she can make new friends who respect her beliefs. This gentle, moving story from first-time author Reem Faruqi comes to life in Lea Lyon’s vibrant illustrations. Lyon uses decorative arabesque borders on intermittent spreads to contrast the ordered patterns of Islamic observances with the unbounded rhythms of American school days.

You can get it here.

Every child on the planet is locked inside their homes. They are kept deep inside, to guard them from the evil that lurks outside. An easy to catch virus that doesn’t distinguish between young or old. As Ramadan get’s close, Asiyah wonders if this virus might just ruin her favorite month of Ramadan.Her solution is to join forces with her pet lion Asad, who has been blessed with very special powers. Amidst these difficult and uncertain times, the book offers a message of hope and comfort to put young minds at ease. An imaginative creation that is surely going to be a popular addition to your reading collection!The story has been written for by Muslim parents who recognize the importance of offering relevant age appropriate content for Muslim children. They desired to develop a story-line that not only appeals and offers engagement but more importantly conveys values that can help mold young minds.Parents it is our full hope that you and all children will tremendously benefit from this story and from our planned future releases.Themes you’ll find inside this illustrated book: Allah’s mercy, communication with parents, planning in life, and striving for good in the blessed month of Ramadan.

You can get it here. 

Are your kids fighting?

5 Tools to AVOID That

By Jailan Heidar

Now that most of us have been in lockdown for at least a month, tensions are starting to arise between siblings. 

Kids are fighting more for mom and dad’s attention, arguing and teasing each other and just not getting along. Do you feel it’s the same in your home with your kids?

I want to tell you that there are tools to help you and your kids through this!

I want to make sure you kid the important tools you need that can support you through this time if your kiddos have started squabbling. 

Here you go!

1. Spending special time with your child

Most unwanted behavior is a means to get attention, especially among siblings. Schedule daily alone time with your child even if it’s 15 minutes. Make sure you name it “special time with mommy and your child”. Let your child pick the activity you’ll be doing together. Remember to keep this time uninterrupted by other chores, cell-phones or people. You can still give individual attention to each child when you are with both of them. Remember to individualize comments and conversations with each child and do not group them together.

2. Get your kids to work together not against each other

To motivate kids, we sometimes fall into the mistake of comparing them to each other. “look how your sister is feeding herself” or “who is going to brush their teeth first?”. This can create unhealthy competition and resentment between siblings. Instead, motivate them by encouraging them to be a team against you or the clock. “Help each other clean up before the 2 minutes are up!”.

3. Let your kids speak for themselves

A lot of times we tend to speak for our kids, especially when there’s a much younger sibling or a shy child involved. This is completely well-intentioned by parents of course but it can seem to the child that you are taking sides. Instead, try to encourage your child to speak for him or herself to the brother or sister. You might need to assist a younger child but this is the first step in helping your kids speak to each other instead of having them come to you all the time.

4. Put your kids in the same boat

Every child is different, you may have a more active child and a calmer child. A child who follows rules and one who doesn’t. With time, compliments to the “good” child may cause feelings of resentment from the child who is struggling. The “good” child may also start looking down on the other sibling who has challenges. You don’t want either of those feelings because they encourage hostile feelings between siblings. Instead, group kids in the same boat with expected behavior “both of you clean your room so you can both go out in the garden” or “No screaming” instead of singling one child out who is screaming.

5. Show faith in your kids!

I can not emphasize how important this is. Kids do better when they feel better and when you believe in them. Let your kids know you believe they can be nice together, that they can work out a solution or that they can avoid teasing each other. Try, “I know the two of you love each other and can talk without screaming”.

Finally, conflict is part of life. It is unrealistic to expect to avoid conflict. As you minimize situations of unnecessary conflict with the above tools, you’ll have more breathing space and patience to use conflict situations as an opportunity to conflict resolution. How can your child ask nicely for a toy? ideas for turn-taking? problem-solving steps? there are a lot of oppr=ortunites for learning skills your children will need with their friends after this lockdown ends!

I want you to know you’ve got this!

Which tool will you be starting with? I love hearing from you! Just click here to let me know. 

Sending you lots of virtual hugs!

Jailan

PS. If you feel you need more in-depth support just click here and let me know what’s on your mind.

PSS. If you are struggling with dealing with the stress of parenting during the lockdown. I’d like to invite you to join Moms Together, a free virtual support group meeting every Tuesday at 8 PM. You can get the call link here.

3 Ways To Deal With Mom Stress & Anxiety During Lockdown

By Jailan Heidar

 know your time is valuable. You can listen to this message here (5 minutes).

I want to send you a little message and remind you to be kind to yourself.

It’s OK if you can’t plan activities for your kid, or if there’s just pasta and pizza for dinner or if you use the TV as a babysitter.

This is a transitional phase. You are experiencing something completely new. None of us have had this kind of lockdown experience before or at least not for this long.

It will take some time to create a new normal.

In the meantime, let’s think of some simple tools that can help you start making more calm out of this chaos. These are little changes you can start making one at a time to help you and your family.

1. The mind is an amazing organ. It runs our feelings and emotions but it can also be trained, shaped and molded into what you need. Right now you need tools to help you reduce your anxiety and stress.

Most of us are freaked out and stressed because we feel trapped, alone, isolated. We don’t know how long this will last. We fear us or our loved ones getting sick. There are things you can control and things you can’t control. Focus on what you can control. Every time your mind wanders to what you can’t control (the number of people getting infected) divert your attention to what you can control (staying home, sanitizing, minimizing your trips out, social-distancing, etc). You’ll find this gives you more strength and reduces your anxiety as you focus on what you can control in your environment.

2. Meditation is a great way to help you through stress and anxiety. It allows our minds to calm down and repeat positive mantras. Life coach and Happiness Evangelist Julie Leonard shares two beautiful meditations with you.

You can listen to Julie’s Self Compassion Meditation here and the Stress & Anxiety Reducing mediation here to practice them at home!

3. Antirumination can help us get out of a depressive state. One of the simplest practices you can do is to include in your nightly routine literally 2 minutes to highlight what you are thankful for. Pick 2 things you are thankful for. It would be even better if you could write them down as writing helps the brain engrave those positive thoughts. As you repeat this practice daily, the connections in your brain that notice these moments of gratitude become strengthened and you start to train your brain to focus on the positive rather than the negative.

If you feel you need support or want to reach out to share what’s on your mind just click reply here and it will come straight to me.

I wish you all the best of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.
PS. If you feel you need ongoing support from experts and other moms join us every Tuesday at 8 PM CEST in the Free Moms Together Support Group. Get the call links here.

Why your child doesn’t owe anyone a hug this holiday season

By Jailan Heidar

Every holiday season or big family event I see the same thing. Kids being told to go ahead and give a friend or relative they haven’t seen in ages a hug or a kiss. Sometimes pressure being put on kids by insisting or telling them that the other person is going to be sad. We feel embarrassed as parents that our kids have “misbehaved” or aren’t nice. But are they really? Is the physical contact that important? Why can’t we settle for a simple hello or handshake even? Physical contact is such an intimate situation, especially a hug or kiss.

I understand that for a lot of us, we don’t want the other person to feel offended and not liked. That person is probably a family member or friend we talk to regularly and we are close to even if the kids don’t see them. A best friend, grandparent, aunt or uncle. Trust me, I understand. I’m raising my kids in one country while each of their grandparents, aunts, uncles and my best friends are in different countries. It’s tough when I talk to my best friends regularly then when my kids see them once a year they won’t say hello. But you know what? within an hour they’ve usually warmed up to them and are offering hugs and kisses themselves as they say goodbye. Because with people who really love your kids, the love comes through no matter what.

Whenever you start feeling awkward or embarrassed just think, .would you be happy if a relative (loved or not) grabs hold of you and gives you a big smooch? I doubt it. Would you feel safe/secure/relaxed/comfortable if your spouse/partner pushed you onto another adult who expected you to great them with a hug? Definitely not.

Let’s ask ourselves, why do we allow this behavior on children if we don’t allow it on ourselves as adults? The point of letting children choose whether they want to give hugs, kisses or even shake hands is not about letting them be rude or letting them get away with getting out of social etiquette.

This choice is empowerment. It’s letting your child know his/her space and body are their own. They get to choose who can come into that space. It’s also about building natural loving bonds through experiences. Isn’t that a completely natural and important lesson to learn?

So this holiday season, prepare yourself mentally in advance that your child may not rush into everyone’s arms. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about or apologize for. Reduce your expectations to your child giving a simple and respectful hello or handshake. That’s OK!

I hope you join me as we all try to be that parent who teaches that security, boundaries, limits, and consent are far more important than societal pressure and niceties 

And trust that the love will come through.

“A relationship is not based on the length of time you spent together; it’s based on the foundation you built together.”