Parents, however, also have moral/religious duties to their children. (say moral slash religious duties)  

Both parents have the responsibility of being moral examples for their children. An unfortunate reality today is that many kids pick up vices like lying from their parents. Have you ever seen a parent telling his or her spouse that “they aren’t there” when someone calls? Well, that’s a form of lying, and kids see that and pick up on it.  

The same goes for other acts of dishonesty, such as parents lying to each other. Here is another example, angry children often pick up their anger from their parents. Similarly, anxious and fearful kids also inherit much of their fears and panic attacks from their parents.  

Parents therefore have the duty to be proper role models for their children in Islam. Parents need to be morally upright and also be calm sources of emotional security, not emotional ruin!  

Parents also have the duty to educate their kids about Islam. First, they need to teach them the basic principles of Islam, both the usul al-deen where the basics of Islamic creed are taught.  

Second, kids need to learn the proper rituals and dos and donts of Islam. So they need to learn how to pray, fast, do wudu and also know what is impermissible and ritually impure.  

Some parents think that by sending their kids to Islamic schools they’ve done their job and they don’t need to teach them anything. But remember that words can only go so far. If kids see their parents not practicing Islam, the teachings of Islam won’t mean anything.  

When parents don't practice, kids often think about Islam the following way: "if Islam isn’t good enough for my parents to practice, why should it be good enough for me to practice?"   

To learn more, please tune into the full version of this lesson.