When are children required to fast, and when does puberty occur for males and females?

Question : Honorable Shaykh, this questioner, Umm Ahmad, sent this question. She says: Some fathers and mothers force their young children to break their fast, claiming that they are unable to fast, and they use their studies as an excuse. What is the specific age at which children are required to fast? May Allah reward you.

Answer : The age at which fasting becomes obligatory is the age of puberty, which is the completion of fifteen years. A person is not required to fast before reaching puberty. Puberty occurs in a female through one of four things: the emission of semen with desire, the growth of pubic hair, the completion of fifteen years, and the onset of menstruation. As for the male, it occurs through the first three: the emission of semen with desire, the growth of pubic hair, and the completion of fifteen years. Before that, fasting is not obligatory. However, a person should order his children to fast if they are able to do so, whether they are able at seven years old, ten years old, or thirteen years old.
This is because the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to make their young children fast, to the point that one of them would cry from hunger, and they would give him a toy made of wool to amuse himself with. As for what the questioner mentioned about some people preventing their children, who are capable of fasting, from fasting on the excuse that it is difficult for them along with their studies, this is not kindness to the children, but rather harm to them. It is not good upbringing, but rather bad upbringing. If the Companions made their children fast until the child would cry from it and be given a toy to amuse himself with, how can these people prevent their children from fasting when they are capable of doing so without hardship, especially in a year like this where Ramadan coincided with the days of heat? Good.