Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Grow Mama Grow

Home
About
Contact
All Posts
- Islamophobia and The Prophets: What We Can Learn
- Is Islamophobia a Reality at School? How to Talk to Your Kids About It
  - There’s a Used Condom on My Door Handle: Hate Crimes and the Burden of Proof

Home
Muslim
A Desert at Home

A Desert at Home

Last updated on: December 30, 2010 at 2:55 pm by Admin GrowMama

A Desert at Home 2010-12-30T14:55:36-04:00 Admin GrowMama

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“Maryam, what do you want to take with you to Tata’s house today: your laptop or baby?” I asked my 1.5 year old. Yes, she already has a toy laptop and even though I consider her my baby, she already has a baby doll of her own. Today she chose the baby. SubhanAllah, she already has motherly qualities about her. She cares for its hat, gives it a blanket to sleep with, and pushes it in a stroller appropriate for both of their sizes.

Like many parents we want to provide our daughter with all the experiences she needs to be a well-rounded person inshAllah. Now that she has gotten older, I noticed that this includes occasionally buying Maryam the most interactive toys in the toy store as soon as she has became jaded from the latest of her tens of others. Most of the toys in our household are easily disposable in Maryam’s point of view as she has little attachment to them. What is worse is they are usually either battery operated or made of plastic, or both—eventually adding to the waste and rubbish that litters our planet. In reality, she still finds the mundane objects around our house that are repurposed for fun the most interesting. Building obstacle courses out of the couch cushions or helping me mix, pour, and eventually spill ingredients while cooking are some of her most exciting activities.

I know I still remember when “play-doh” was “play dough” made of flour, water and food coloring. Growing up there were no 24 hour cartoon channels, videos on demand on youtube, and many of the constant stimulations that children are now exposed to. I worry that amid the myriad of ready-to-whateveryouwant items that permeate our lifestyle today, the childhood narrative will have forgotten what it was like to think creatively with the simple things we have. How can we grant our children a reprieve from the stimulations and distractions that are so constant in our lives, and allow them room and space to think creatively?

My mother, for example, has relayed to me many warm memories of her unpretentious childhood in Palestine. She would fashion dolls out of swatches of leftover fabric, recycled newspaper, and hand spun wool. Toys such as tops were crafted from acorns that fell from Zarur trees. She would scour the countryside with neighborhood kids for a certain type of pure white dirt that when mixed with water made malleable clay. The clay would be molded in the shape of cups, plates, and spoons, baked, and then whimsically used in tea parties. She would set out with her parents to their nearby lands during the harvest, and pick up colorful wildflowers that were later used to extract brilliant colors for dyes and food coloring. Like most people in her village they owned orchards of olive trees. As a child, she strung together olive seeds to make treasured necklaces. What’s more is that all these items would be used until worn out. Today we would call this being eco-friendly.

There is yet another example of an austere upbringing in our lives, one that we are all familiar with. Our very own prophet (S) was raised in the desert, as was customary for children at the time. Perhaps it was appropriate since diseases were less prevalent there compared to Mecca where viruses could be transmitted from passing caravans. But in a world with as much diversity in its ecosystems as the diversity among its inhabitants, why did Allah (swt) in His infinite wisdom choose the desert as the best place to raise the final prophet (S)—the one sent to the entire world? I wonder now whether it was because being raised that way afforded the prophet (S) opportunities to think creatively with the few simple things he had. Perhaps the desert provided the blank slate onto which a child could paint the contents of his/her imagination.

I constantly make an effort to foster an environment free of frivolous amusements for my daughter. Many times this means more effort on my part to engage her so she can insha’Allah learn to be innovative, resourceful, and responsible. In some ways I’m working to build my own desert right at home.

*Photo taken from http://aperfectplayroom.com/, which I came across after writing this post. Incidentally, it talks about some of the clinically found pros(cons) of limiting(expanding) children’s toy collections.

Dalal Kanan

Dalal is a 4**th year PhD student in chemistry at Princeton University, and a devoted mother to one gregarious toddler.

Motherhood Reflections

Parenthood

benefit of less

childhood of the Prophet

Previous Post

December 27, 2010

Manners

Next Post

January 3, 2011 Shhhh….

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book and Movie Reviews Community Connecting with Allah Counselor's Corner Environment fatherhood five stars GrowBaba Spotlight GrowMama Picks Growmama Roundup Health Light Fare marriage Motherhood Reflections moving Parenthood Photography Poems Schooling Self-development tragedy Tutorials Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 November 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, what did the younger son demand?

Select your answer to see how you score.

His inheritance A feast Forgiveness The best robe