Ramadan is here in all its goodness. This Ramadan, as we have been told, fasting time will be very long — reaching 15 hours daily from dawn to sunset. However, the well-being and bounty these fasting days entail overshadow the hardship of these long hours.

This summer I am reminded of my childhood days, the first days of fasting. My memory holds so many delightful scenes of my first fasting experience. And just as I had been trained to fast, I train my children today.

Learning the ethics of this observance, and planting its values in the souls of our children, is usually accomplished by telling stories from the life of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), which symbolises peace, kindness and goodness.

I allow my children to join me in the kitchen to prepare the iftar meal. And I encourage them to set the table.

It is also essential to talk to them about suhour, its timings and benefits, as this pre-dawn meal will sustain them through the long fasting hours. The coming together of family members at both suhour and iftar is a very important aspect of Ramadan.

The essence of Ramadan is to feel the hunger and needs of other, less fortunate people around us. Thus, I always encourage my children to put extra bottles of water in the fridge at all times and when we are out, either visiting someone or going to the mosque, we carry these cooled bottles and give them to workers on the streets. This creates a feeling of solidarity among children and makes them feel responsible and pious.

Food on the table at all times has to be treated with respect, and whatever is left over will be wrapped properly and given to others who cannot afford it. My children are also aware that some of the food prepared at home will be given to other, less fortunate people before iftar time.

It is crucial that fasting during Ramadan is associated with happiness and joy to stimulate children and encourage them to wait for this month with eagerness and a sense of delight.

It is also important to give our children good memories of this important time of the year. As they grow up, these memories, embedded in their minds, will assist them through their lives to pass on the goodness of this holy month to their children and grandchildren, and to treat this time of year as a time of giving, caring for others and generosity.

Once children have completed their fast at sunset, they must be treated as adults, and seated along with them for the iftar meal. They must be commended and made to feel proud of their accomplishment.

These values of feeling for the needy and showing social solidarity will live forever with our children if they are instilled in them properly.

Among the other activities I am keen on having my children join in are going to the mosque to offer our Isha and Taraweeh prayers, visiting relatives, and learning about charity by setting aside some of their daily pocket money for this purpose.

From early childhood, the importance of Zakat — alms — must be explained in a fun and story-like manner to them.

We can also encourage them by taking a small portion of their daily allowance or pocket money away, to be kept in a box or container. The accumulated money can be given to the needy as Zakat before the end of Ramadan. These small gestures make a lot of difference in the understanding of our children about the greatness of our religion, in solidarity and compassion with others. These small gestures will be engraved in their minds at a young age and will teach them how to deal and act properly with others, whether Muslims or non-Muslims.

As a result of my simple experience in life, I am a believer in the fact that people raise their children as they were initially raised by their parents, with a few small amendments. The fundamental components remain the same.

Today, we are setting them on the track of good manners, scruples and ethics and, in turn, they will raise their children in the same manner.

A little bit of planning is required with a bit of studying, and the result will be that our children will be able to face the challenges of life in a highly ethical manner, based essentially on our religion. It is as Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said: “I was sent to human kind to complete ethics.”

Let us be highly motivated throughout Ramadan, which comes as a wonderful guest just once every year. Let us all have a target this year of planting all things good in our new and budding generations.

Salama Al Hebsi is an Emirati writer based in Dubai.