Eid al-Adha is one of the great occasions for Muslims because of the many rituals and virtues it contains.
Eid is a joy in which children and adults participate, especially children who look forward to this occasion because it is different from other occasions, so you find them waiting for the moment when their parents bring the Eid sheep (the sacrifice) to the house and see it for the first time, so they are happy and forget its presence, and they share in feeding it and some of them are emotionally attached to it. .
However, the shock may come when the child sees the sheep being slaughtered in front of him, which causes feelings of sadness and fear within him. Sometimes it may leave a psychological impact on the inside of the child that may accompany him for life.
Therefore, it is preferable for the child not to see the scene of the slaughter before he reaches the age of late childhood, which starts from the age of ten, when he can see the scene of the slaughter in order to know the wisdom behind the redemption and the sacrifice. animal torture.
Therefore, we must take some steps to prepare the child for the scene of the sacrifice, including:
Educating the child on the religious and human aspect of practicing this ritual, and telling the story of our master Ibrahim, peace be upon him, with his son Ismail, and that God created these cattle for us as a blessing for us to eat from their meat and give them as alms to the poor and needy.
Encouraging him to participate and carry out simple tasks such as distributing the sacrifice and dividing it among the needy, and this plays a role in implanting sound faith in the hearts of children and developing the concept of giving and self-confidence.
Respecting the desire of children and not mocking them if they do not want to see the sacrifice when it is slaughtered.
Not forcing the child to participate in the slaughter if he does not want to do so.
Graduating the child to participate in the sacrifice: For example, every year he is asked to participate and do some simple tasks, such as distributing the sacrifice without seeing it when it is slaughtered, and the next year seeing parts of it and so on until he is ready to see the sacrifice in full.
Psychologist / Alaa Al-Hawsawi
Booking training courses
