There is no doubt that the first part of this article helped us review and recognize the various signs, and we learned that children’s silence in the family gathering is not always a sign of calm and reassurance, but may in fact be a hidden cry. Here we continue with the second part.
5. Hidden conflicts among family members
One of the most serious causes of sudden silence is the unspoken conflicts within the family gathering.
When someone becomes silent, or when the tone of the relationship between two members suddenly changes, it is often because of unresolved disagreements that have spilled over into the general atmosphere and influenced the behavior of the whole family.
6. Language… when children do not understand the “Ramseh”
One of the emerging issues in family gatherings today, which contributes to widening the gap of silence, is what can be called the “language gap.” The disconnect is no longer limited to ideas or emotions; it has extended to the very absence of linguistic understanding. In some families, children do not understand the Emirati dialect (“Ramseh”), and some may not even master Arabic at all.
This phenomenon results from several combined factors, including reliance on private education that focuses on foreign languages, parents’ busyness, and the absence of daily conversations in the mother tongue.
Moreover, when children are raised by domestic workers who do not speak Arabic, and when they lack Emirati peers who share the same dialect and identity, their daily practice of the local dialect weakens, and they grow linguistically in an environment alien to their real community.
When a child cannot understand the words exchanged in the gathering, or does not know how to express themselves in a dialect close to their family’s, they prefer silence over participation. Here, we are not only talking about a language gap, but about a fracture in belonging and identity, and about an isolation that is nurtured within the family itself.
7. The absence of family value among children
More alarming than all the above is when there is no clear reason at all—other than the fact that children have come to see the family as something “temporary,” carrying no real value in their hearts. They wait impatiently for the gathering to end so they can escape to their friends or their digital worlds.
Here we confront a worrying reality: children no longer feel that the family is worthy of attention, or perhaps they never received enough messages instilling that sense of value in the first place.
In conclusion
As fathers, mothers, and elders in the gathering, we must learn to listen to what is not said and read between the lines. If this dilemma is left untreated, it may branch out into even greater problems: isolation, withdrawal, social disconnection, and possibly an emotional detachment from the family altogether.
