Short answer
Yes. A child's prayers, fasting, Quran and kindness are written as good deeds for the child, and the parents who teach and help them share the reward. Sins are not recorded against a child before puberty. The four schools agree on this.
A child's acts of worship are valid as voluntary worship and rewarded for the child, while the pen of sin is lifted until puberty. The guardian who teaches and encourages also receives reward.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
A woman lifted up a small child during Hajj and asked the Prophet ﷺ: does this one have a Hajj? He said: yes, and you have a reward. He also said that the pen is lifted from three, including the child until he grows up. Scholars take from these that good deeds are recorded for children, but sins are not recorded against them.
What this means:
- Prayer, fasting, Quran: rewarded for the child as voluntary worship. See when children start praying and children fasting.
- Parents' share: every time you teach a surah or take your child to prayer, you earn reward, and the child's good deeds count in your favour, now and after your death.
- Bad deeds: not written as sins before puberty. But children should still be corrected and taught, because the habits they form carry on.
- Hajj before puberty: valid and rewarded, but does not replace the obligatory Hajj later.
When does it change? At puberty a person becomes fully accountable for both good and bad. See when a child becomes accountable. Children who die young are in Jannah; see children who die.
The evidence
Sahih Muslim 1336
Sahih... ألهذا حج قال نعم ولك أجر ...
"Does this child have a Hajj? He said: yes, and you have a reward."
A child's worship is valid and rewarded, and the parent shares the reward.
Sunan Abi Dawud 4398
Graded sahih... وعن المبتلى حتى يبرأ وعن الصبي حتى يكبر ...
"The pen is lifted from three: from the afflicted until he recovers, and from the child until he grows up."
Sins are not recorded against children.
Sahih Muslim 1631
Sahih... إذا مات الإنسان انقطع عنه عمله إلا من ثلاث ...
"When a person dies, his deeds come to an end except for three, among them a righteous child who prays for him."
A righteous child continues to benefit the parents.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Ashbah wa al-Naza'ir (Ibn Nujaym), Section on the rulings of children (ahkam al-sibyan). A child's worship is valid and rewarded; he is not held to obligations.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, opening discussion. The child's prayer and the guardian's duty to order it.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.