How to Bring Your Dua for Patience Into Your Reactions 

Parenting Perspective 

Create a Pause Between Feeling and Response 

Making Dua for patience is a sincere beginning, but patience is also a skill that requires practice in daily interactions. Snapping often happens because a parent’s nervous system is overwhelmed in the moment. You may not stop feeling frustration immediately, but you can create small pauses between the feeling and your response. For example, when you sense yourself about to raise your voice, taking one slow breath or even turning slightly away for a second can create enough space to choose a calmer response. Children will notice not only what you say but how you manage your own feelings. 

Plan Ahead for Stressful Moments 

A practical approach is to plan ahead for recurring stressful moments. If you know mornings or bedtime tend to make you snap, introduce small changes that reduce pressure: preparing bags the night before, lowering expectations about perfection, or asking your spouse or older children to help with one step. Each of these adjustments lightens the intensity that fuels impatience. 

Repair and Reconnect After You Snap 

It is also helpful to repair moments when you do snap. Calmly telling your child, ‘I became upset too quickly, but I am still here for you,’ models both humility and love. Over time, this consistency shows them that while you are human and make mistakes, you always choose to reconnect. This balance of striving and repairing is what sustains trust between you and your children. 

Spiritual Insight 

Patience Is a Prophetic Act 

In the Islamic perspective, patience is a pathway to success, as Allah Almighty supports those who remain calm during life’s trials. Patience is a prophetic act, demonstrated by numerous prophets as an example for the Ummah. 

Patience Is an Active Strength 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Shuraa (42), Verse 43: 

‘And for the person who is patient and forgiving, indeed, (these acts are derived from) higher moral determination.’  

This Verse highlights that patience is not passive, but an active strength that requires effort and intention. When you are tested by your children’s behaviour, you are not simply asked to suppress irritation, but to exercise willpower in that moment as an act of worship. 

True Strength Is Controlling Yourself When Angry 

It is recorded in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Book 57, Hadith 1, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘The strong person is not the one who can overpower others, but the strong one is the one who controls himself when he is angry.’  

This hadith reframes patience as a strength to be built. Each time you manage to pause, even briefly, you are exercising real strength in the sight of Allah Almighty. Linking your dua for patience with a practical step, like taking a breath or reciting a short dhikr before responding, can bridge intention and action. 

By combining spiritual intention with small, real-time strategies, you can gradually transform your reactions. Your children will then see both your love and your striving, and you will feel the barakah of living your dua in practice.