What is the ruling on training young children to fast? Is there a reward in it?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Does the guardian of young children receive a reward for training them to fast, and do the children themselves receive a reward?
Answer:
It is obligatory for their guardian, just as it is obligatory regarding prayer, that he train them and take care of them so that they become accustomed to fasting, if they are of the age for it and if they are able to do so, such as a ten-year-old boy or one of similar age.
Q: What if they are younger?
The Shaykh: They may not be able to, but a ten-year-old and older may be able to. It is not like prayer; prayer is lighter.
Does the guardian of young children receive a reward for training them to fast, and do the children themselves receive a reward?
Answer:
It is obligatory for their guardian, just as it is obligatory regarding prayer, that he train them and take care of them so that they become accustomed to fasting, if they are of the age for it and if they are able to do so, such as a ten-year-old boy or one of similar age.
Q: What if they are younger?
The Shaykh: They may not be able to, but a ten-year-old and older may be able to. It is not like prayer; prayer is lighter.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.