The biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) showed how was the Prophet keen to teach young children and play with them in a friendly prophetic manner which, in turn, contributed in building the characters of young Companions who were brought up in the prophetic community and made of them a good core for building the community of the second generation of Muslims which was the second best century after the century of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Hence, you see the Prophet (peace be upon him) playing with a child whose name was `Umayr ibn Malik, the younger brother of Anas ibn Malik, the servant of the Messenger (peace be upon him). So, `Umayr had (Nughayr) which was a small bird which he used to foster and breed like all young children do with animals. Whenever the Messenger (peace be upon him) saw him, he asked: “O Abu `Umayr, what did (Nughayr)?” The kid would answer shyly: “It is fine, O Messenger of Allah.” After a while the bird dies and `Umayr felt sad for his bird. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw it, he asked him as usual: “O Abu `Umayr, what did (Nughayr)?
The Prophet (peace be upon him) felt sorry for him and consoled him with sweet words to calm down the boy, and whenever the Prophet saw that boy, he would play with him saying: “O Abu `Umayr, What did (Nughayr)?” The boy would answer shyly: “It died, O Messenger of Allah.” That situation strengthened the relation between the Prophet (peace be upon him) and that young Companion who later became one of the prominent Successors who taught people.
Here we can deduct a great benefit from that prophetic behavior with that young boy which is: he (peace be upon him) gained the trust and love of that boy.
The question here is:
Why should not we be nice and polite with our children to gain their love and trust and to be so close to them. Accordingly, they will grew up loving us and listening to our words instead of filial disobedience and mistrust which blocks the way between the parents and their children?
