How can I help my child understand that protecting the eyes and heart includes what we watch? 

Parenting Perspective 

Children often hear rules about ‘not watching bad things’, but this can feel like an abstract command. The deeper, more lasting lesson is helping them to understand why what we see with our eyes directly affects our inner world. You can guide your child towards this understanding by gently linking their screen choices to how they feel afterwards. 

Link Screen Choices to Inner Feelings 

Help them to notice the connection between what they watch and how they feel. You could ask, ‘Did that show make you feel happy and calm, or did it make you feel a bit restless and unsettled?’ For younger children, a simple analogy can be powerful: ‘Our eyes are like doors to our hearts. What we let in can make our hearts feel bright and sunny, or a bit cloudy’. This teaches them the principle of emotional self-awareness. 

Involve Them in Choosing ‘Heart-Kind’ Content 

When possible, make screen decisions together. Discuss why certain shows might be avoided, not because they are abstractly ‘bad’, but because they fill the heart with feelings that are not beneficial. The key is to offer better, positive alternatives, rather than only forbidding certain content. When they are involved in choosing wholesome material, they learn to regulate themselves over time. 

Model Mindful Viewing Yourself 

Your own habits are the most powerful teacher. If your child sees you pausing to consider whether a programme is worth your time, or if you turn something off because it does not feel right, they will naturally begin to apply that same critical filter to their own habits. Your lived example makes the principle real for them. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam teaches that guarding our senses is a fundamental part of protecting the purity and peace of our heart and soul. 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Noor (24), Verse 30: 

‘Say (O Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) to the believing men to lower their gaze (upon forbidden things); and protect their private parts (with chastity); these actions shall help them (attain) piety…’ 

This verse reminds us that safeguarding our gaze from that which is harmful or unbeneficial is a direct command from Allah and a means by which we attain inner purity. This is a crucial lesson to establish for our children from a young age. 

It is recorded in Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 52, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body which, if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, that is the heart.’ 

This profound hadith teaches us that the state of the heart is central to our entire wellbeing. What we expose ourselves to through our eyes and ears can either strengthen and purify the heart, or weaken and corrupt it. By framing screen choices as an act of protecting the heart, you equip your child to see media not just as entertainment, but as something that can either nourish or harm their spiritual health.