How can parents use family media time to help children practise respectful disagreement? 

Parenting Perspective 

Family media time is a golden opportunity to teach the essential life skill of how to disagree respectfully. By turning passive viewing into an active dialogue, you can equip your children with the tools for emotional maturity and critical thinking. 

Set the Stage for Thoughtful Dialogue 

Before you start watching something together, create a positive expectation. You can say, ‘It is interesting to hear how we all see things differently. As we watch this, let us remember it is okay to disagree, as long as we are kind and listen to each other’. This prepares them to engage thoughtfully instead of defensively. 

Model How to Disagree Respectfully 

Your child will learn by watching you. During a discussion, model healthy disagreement with phrases like, ‘That is an interesting point. I saw it differently, and here is why…’. This teaches them how to validate another person’s view while still confidently expressing their own. 

Encourage Critical Thinking and Reflection 

Pause the show at a pivotal moment and ask open-ended questions. ‘Do you think that character made the right choice? Why or why not?’ Prompting them to explain their reasoning helps them to develop and articulate their own opinions, moving beyond simple emotional reactions. 

Praise the Process, Not Just the Opinion 

Acknowledge and praise them when they listen well to a sibling’s point of view or express their own opinion calmly. Reinforcing the how more than the what teaches them that the goal is not to “win” an argument, but to communicate with respect and empathy. 

By using media time as a safe training ground for disagreement, you help your children build the confidence to navigate different viewpoints with grace and clarity in all areas of their life. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam champions the art of dialogue and the ethical exchange of ideas, guiding us to communicate with wisdom and moral integrity even when we disagree. 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Nahal (16), Verse 125: 

‘ Invite (people) to (follow) the (prescribed) pathways of your Sustainer with wisdom, and polite enlightened direction, and only argue with them in the politest manner…’ 

This verse provides the perfect methodology for any discussion. It reminds us that our goal should always be to communicate with wisdom, patience, and the best of manners, especially when viewpoints differ. 

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ gave a golden rule for all speech. 

It is recorded in Sahih Muslim, 48, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.‘ 

This is the foundational principle for any disagreement. It teaches children that if they cannot express their differing opinion in a way that is good, kind, and constructive, then the more pious and dignified choice is to remain silent. By practising this, they are embodying a core tenet of Islamic character.