A Christian Nanny Working for Islamic Family Helps Celebrate Ramadan

Nannies: Would You Work for a Family of a Different Faith?

By Melissa Silvester, Nanny, New York, NY

Photo of the Al-Zaim family gathered for dinner to break the Ramadan fast. Adult Muslims are required to fast during daylight hours this month as a form of worship. (Justine Hunt/Globe Staff Boston.com)

I am a Christian who has been working as a nanny for a Muslim family with a six-year-old boy and twin infant boys for more than three years. I have been hired to help care for the boys as the mother volunteers for charity and the father works as a surgeon.

At at time when scared American citizens are protesting the building of a mosque in Manhattan, and since Ramadan begins at sundown tonight, I feel there is no better time to let other nannies know about my experience working with, and falling in love with, a Muslim family in America.

I know it sounds cliche, but I truly have learned there is more in common between our religious beliefs than different. The children are being raised to follow the same moral codes and values as I was.

I could go through the checklist of similarities between the two religions but you can do that yourself by clicking here ,or clicking here ,or by simply googling to find those similarities.

I just want to share that I know first hand that there is much more to praise and respect than ridicule or fear about the faith.

I am most impressed with the mother's devotion of time and energy volunteering for charities. After being hired by this family I see clearly that the love any parent has for a child is the same despite where or how they worship. It's really true that all parents want the same things for their children: good health, good education, and to respect and live by good values and good moral code. All parents want their children to treat others well and to help the less fortunate, just as my employers do.

I just want to encourage nannies to consider working with families that worship a different faith. There is nothing to fear and it has been an enlightening and wonderful experience for me.

Also, even if you don't work for a Muslim family you certainly can teach the kids you care for about Ramadan.

For more than a billion Muslims around the world, Ramadan is a "month of blessing" marked by prayer, fasting, and charity. But while in many places these holidays have become widely commercialized, Ramadan retains its focus on self-sacrifice and devotion to Allah (God).

Ramadan is about generosity and gratitude. Although charity and good deeds are always important in Islam, they have special significance at the end of Ramadan. As the month draws to a close, Muslims are obligated to share their blessings by feeding the poor and making contributions to mosques.

The children I care for will not fast, of course. Since the children don't have to take part in the Ramadan traditions like fasting I can still have them do plenty of meaningful, fun activities about the holiday.

Here are some of my favorite links for activities to do with children for Ramadan fun:

Click here to make this "Good Deeds Calendar" and other arts and crafts to do with kids for Ramadan.

Click here for coloring pages and arts and crafts on the crayola web site.

Click here for one of my favorite blogs on easy activities to do with kids. Type in Ramadan in the search engine for fun Ramadan activities.

Click here to make an easy Ramadan puzzle.

Children's Books for Reading:

My First Ramadan by Karen Katz

This book is an easy read and explores the basics of the Ramadan at the level of understanding of a small child.

The Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story by Hena Khan

This is a perfect reader for school age children. It is a story about an American Muslim child observing Ramadan with her family. Muslim American children can relate very easily to a book like this because they can place themselves into the story.

Have you worked for a family that worships a different faith?