What creative reward charts can track Sunnah food tries?
Parenting Perspective
Reward charts can be a wonderfully effective visual tool to encourage children to explore Sunnah foods, but their success depends entirely on the approach. When designed with creativity, positivity, and a spiritual connection, they become a source of joy and motivation. The goal is not to bribe a child into eating, but rather to celebrate their curiosity and courage in trying new things.
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Designing a Joyful and Engaging Chart
The visual appeal of a reward chart is its primary draw for a child. Instead of a generic grid, the chart should be a creative and thematic piece of art. You could design a ‘Sunnah Food Tree’, where a child adds a sticker in the shape of a date or an olive to the branches each time they try one. Alternatively, a ‘Honey Jar of Courage’ could be filled with bee-shaped stickers. The key is to make the visual cues tangible and fun. This can be enhanced by incorporating storytelling elements.
Focusing on Effort and Gratitude
To ensure the experience remains positive, the chart must celebrate effort rather than demanding a specific outcome. The reward should be for the act of trying, even a single, tiny taste, not for finishing a whole portion. This focus on incremental milestones teaches children that their willingness to be brave is what truly matters. Furthermore, the reinforcement should be rooted in praise and gratitude, not material rewards. When a child places a sticker, the parent can respond with enthusiasm, saying, ‘Alhamdulillah! You were so brave to try the blessed food of our Prophet ﷺ’.
Making It a Collaborative Family Project
A reward chart is most effective when it feels like a shared family project rather than a monitoring tool for a single child. Involving children in the creation of the chart itself, by letting them draw, colour, or decorate it, gives them a powerful sense of ownership. The design should be flexible; a magnetic whiteboard or a simple printable chart can be adapted to a child’s changing interests. To foster a sense of teamwork, the entire family can participate. When parents try a new Sunnah food alongside their child, they can add their own sticker to the chart. This models adventurous eating and reinforces the idea that learning and growing is a journey for everyone.
Spiritual Insight
In Islam, our actions are judged by their intentions, and even a simple parenting tool like a reward chart can become an act of worship (ibadah) when its purpose is to gently guide a child towards the Sunnah. It is a practical application of wisdom (hikmah) in parenting, using creative means to instil a love for the practices of our faith.
The Quran encourages us to recognise and value the provisions that Allah brings forth from the earth, framing them as blessings to be appreciated.
Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Baqarah (2), Verse 267:
‘O you who are believers, spend (in the way of Allah Almighty) from the pure income that you have earnt, and whatever We (Allah Almighty) have produced for you from the Earth…’
While this verse is primarily about charity, its opening contains a profound lesson about the source and value of our provisions. It directs our attention to the ‘good things’ that Allah has ‘produced for you from the earth’. A Sunnah food chart becomes a practical way of teaching a child to see and appreciate these specific ‘good things’. Each sticker represents a moment of consciously engaging with a blessing that Allah has created.
The very methodology of using a gentle, encouraging chart aligns perfectly with the core principles of the prophetic approach to teaching and guidance, which was always based on ease and encouragement.
It is recorded in Sahih al Bukhari, Hadith 6125, that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
‘Make things easy for the people, and do not make it difficult for them, and make them calm (with glad tidings) and do not repulse (them ).’
This beautiful Hadith provides the ultimate spiritual framework for using a reward chart. Its purpose is precisely to ‘make things easy’ for a child who may be hesitant, and to ‘give glad tidings’ through praise and positive reinforcement. It is the opposite of making things difficult by forcing or pressuring them, which would only repulse them from the Sunnah. A creative reward chart is a direct application of this wisdom. It is a tool of mercy and encouragement, designed to draw a child’s heart towards the Sunnah with love and joy, which is the very essence of the prophetic method of tarbiyah.
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