How can they share their own traditions without making others feel left out? 

Parenting Perspective 

Children can often feel a great sense of joy in sharing their own family traditions, such as a particular festival, a special kind of food, or a cultural custom, but they can also sometimes worry that other children may feel excluded if they do not celebrate the same things. Teaching your child how to express their pride in a gentle way, without any sense of comparison or of pressure, can help them to celebrate their own identity while also nurturing a spirit of inclusivity. 

Teaching a Sense of Pride with Sensitivity 

You can begin by saying to your child, ‘It is a wonderful thing to be able to share what makes your own family special, and it is just as kind to make sure that other people feel comfortable around it.’ This can help your child to see that their own sense of confidence and of compassion can coexist. Their goal should not be to teach other children about their traditions, but to include them in the joy of learning together. You can also explain to them that every family has something that is unique to them, and that our human differences are not a barrier between us, but are in fact a bridge. 

Coaching Them on How to Share Their Traditions Kindly 

You can help your child to describe their own customs in a way that can invite a sense of curiosity in others, rather than a sense of comparison. Instead of saying things like, ‘We do it better,’ they could learn to say: 

• ‘In my family, we do this, and it is one of my favourite parts!’ 

• ‘During our festival, we always eat these special sweets. Would you like to try one?’ 

These kinds of statements are able to share a sense of joy while also welcoming other people in. It is an invitation, not a lecture. If they sense that other children are feeling left out or are confused by what they have said, they can add some gentle reassurance: ‘You do not have to celebrate it yourself. I just like to share what it means to me.’ 

Helping Them to Enjoy Differences, Not Just Showcase Their Own 

You can encourage your child to ask about the traditions of other children too, not in order to compare them, but simply to connect with them. They could ask, ‘What do you do in your family at special times of the year?’, or ‘That sounds like a lot of fun. What is your favourite part of it?’ This helps to turn the act of sharing into an exchange of warmth, rather than a spotlight on just one particular culture. 

Spiritual Insight 

Islam teaches believers to celebrate their own identity with a sense of humility and of gratitude. Our cultural and our religious traditions are blessings that are meant to connect our hearts, not to divide them. The act of sharing one’s own heritage in a kind and gentle way is a part of da’wah bil-hal, the beautiful art of giving an invitation to our faith through the quiet example of our own good character. 

The Quranic Guidance on Diversity and Understanding 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Hujuraat (49), Verse 13: 

‘O mankind, indeed, We (Allah Almighty) have created you all from one man and one woman; and placed you amongst various nations and tribes for your introduction to each other; indeed, the best of you in the judgement of Allah (Almighty) is the one who is most virtuous…’ 

This verse calls on all of humanity to recognise our differences as a part of the divine design. When your child is able to share their own traditions with a sense of kindness, they are fulfilling this beautiful command to use our diversity as a way of getting to know each other, not of comparing ourselves to one another; to connect with people, not to boast. 

The Prophetic Example of Inclusive Joy 

It is recorded in Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith 2813, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said on the day of Eid: 

‘This day is a day of eating, drinking, and remembrance of Allah.’ 

The Prophet ﷺ always encouraged a form of celebration that was filled with a sense of joy, of generosity, and of the remembrance of Allah, and never with a sense of excess or of exclusion. When your child is able to include other people in their own festive joy, whether it is by sharing their food, by explaining the meaning behind their traditions, or by simply offering a warm smile, they are reviving this beautiful Sunnah of making their happiness feel both contagious and gentle. 

Guiding your child to share their traditions with a sense of sensitivity can teach them how to hold their own sense of pride and their empathy for others in the very same hand. They can learn from these experiences that a true celebration does not have to shine any brighter by dimming the light of other people, but by inviting everyone into its own warmth. 

Your own calm reminders can help them to see that our culture and our faith are at their most beautiful when they are lived in a gracious way, not in a boastful one. Over time, they will be able to realise for themselves that the act of sharing what makes them different can be a way of building a friendship, not of creating a sense of distance. 

When they are able to say, ‘This is something that is special in our family, and I would love to tell you about it,’ they will be practising one of the quietest yet most powerful of all of the Sunnahs: of showing their faith and their identity through a sense of gentleness, of gratitude, and of an open-hearted inclusion.