My husband and I didn’t know that attending the charity event benefitting orphans in the community and abroad would dramatically affect the way we viewed building up our family. We generally jump at the opportunity to sponsor orphans or donate to institutions that provide care and support for them. In part this is due to the strong encouragement in Islam to care for orphans, as the prophet Muhammad stressed it so much that even his poorest companions would be among... Read more
My 12 year old stood before me at the very start of the weekend and announced quite matter-of-factly, “I’m not going back to school.” I stopped myself from forming an angry retort and decided to ignore the comment. I figured by the end of the weekend that whatever had instigated his remark will have dissipated. But all weekend long, every time I reminded his siblings to complete their homework, he’d say “I’m not doing my homework, because I’m not going... Read more
“I have to go.” I blurted and quickly hung up. I was sitting with a coffee in a shopping area, talking to my sister when I saw her. She stared at me and I stared back, taking a couple of seconds to realize who she was. “I thought it was you!” she said softly. I got up to give her a hug. She was Tammy, a former workplace mentor, and it had been more than five years since we had... Read more
We are starting off our Grow Mama Book Club with the book, Dwell In Tranquility An Islamic Road Map to the Vibrant Marriage (www.livingeman.com) by Kamal Shaarawy. Some of the most special gifts from Allah SWT are the ones He plops right in my lap. Recently, a dear friend sent me the book, Dwell in Tranquility An Islamic Road Map to the Vibrant Marriage. I smiled when I saw the author, Ustadh Kamal Shaarawy. He was well known in the... Read more
Growmama Picks is a collection of fun, interesting, and/or inspiring links that we share with you at the end of every month. Enjoy! Love our parents unconditionally, as they loved us. Simply profound. The effects of “princess mania” has been explored on growmama before; this broadcast highlights many of the problems of modern girl culture. On our to-do list for a rainy or sick day: making tracks with tape. This article on the legacy of Muslim women was inspiring. Zen... Read more
“Would you like to buy some girl scout cookies?” For a hundred years, Girl Scouts have been asking this question with smiling faces- and one would be hard pressed to say “no” to any one of these uniformed diet-busters. As a veteran girl scout leader, I expect to have more than my share of (un)necessary calories each spring, but what I didn’t expect was the additional rewards that come with scouting. For a mom of three boys and one girl,... Read more
When my older kids head off to school, I start my other job – the dirty sock picker. I try to look at the bright side while doing this job – keeping my tongue moving in the remembrance of Allah (swt) or simply working out things in my head, keeping my mind busy. I am not perfect though and, sometimes, I do not see the glass half-full and can almost watch my life pass away as I pick up dirty... Read more
Has your child ever been the victim of bullying? Has she bullied others, been bullied, or just stood on the side and let it happen? What’s your role as a parent in helping your child grow through this serious issue? How have you handled it? Below are some responses from mothers like you. If you’ve dealt with this before, please share below! H shares: The first rule of bullying for me is to stop it when I see it. If my... Read more
I was waking up my 6 year old for school or suhur, or something the other day, with my usual growl and frown, and couldn’t help but pause and remember my father, sending prayers for him. I flashed back to how he used to wake us up with a loud smile, a boisterous nature, and a happy, off-to-the-right-track beginning of the morning jolt. He would laugh when we grumbled, covered our faces with our blankets, or screamed “I’m getting up”... Read more
It’s important that we seek creative ways of imparting the knowledge of our deen. We must help our children by keeping things relevant and relatable. Here’s a simple project idea that we can use to cultivate and deepen our connection and love for the Prophet (peace be upon him). Let’s help our kids build a personal connection to their Prophet by creating their own artwork about him. This project is especially useful in this month of Rabi’ al-Awwal, as people... Read more
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