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Education

Teenage yawning

(14 Posts)
Santana Mon 07-Feb-22 12:38:11

My GS is 15 and home educated for the last 4 months after a complete failure of the school to meet his needs.
Moved on from that, and he his much more settled, and happier.
He has dyslexia which must make concentration more intense.
I am tutoring him for maths, and although we are making progress, he starts to yawn after about 10 mins. These are big, fidgety yawns, which he can't seem to stop.
I read somewhere that the brain heats up like a car engine and yawning cools it. Seems a bit daft to me.
He is keen to learn and does his work that I set. No idea if he yawns then.
He isn't academic but has an apprenticeship in mind so will need his maths.
Any thoughts or suggestions from anyone would be much appreciated as I can't think of a way to stop the yawning.

Hithere Mon 07-Feb-22 12:46:16

Why does it have to be stopped, if he is learning and happy with his education now?

I would ask him what would improve his tutoring experience

Granmarderby10 Mon 07-Feb-22 12:50:15

I would ask a doctor.
I do know that one of the common side effects of the antidepressant I take was yawning. I wasn’t particularly tired or bored: they just happened- almost forcing my mouth open. This did stop after a while though.

Do tell us if you get an answer from a reliable source Santana, I am genuinely interested

trisher Mon 07-Feb-22 13:09:50

Hi Santana firstly well done for taking action and agreeing to help homeschool your GS. Dyslexia unfortunately is still not adequately dealt with in lots of schools. As far as the yawning goes I wonder what time of day you are doing the teaching? There is some evidence that teenagers function less well in the morning and some schools have actually delayed their start time to account for this- you could try it.
I would say google Dyslexia and learning styles and aquaint yourself with the best ways to help someone who is dyslexic. Finally never set any boundaries dyslexics can be way behind at 15 and suddenly if they find an interest really progress. Your GS isn't suddenly going to become a great reader but if he has access to good technology and realises literacy is not a mark of intelligence he can go far. My DS at 15 was completely put off learning and dropped out of school, fortunately he found at 16 a college course in photography and developed an interest in film. He now has a BA and an MA and is succesful in his field. He has heaps of technology to help him.

Santana Mon 07-Feb-22 13:16:35

He does seem happy with the maths now which was terrible at school.
We did joke that the first one to yawn had to put the kettle on!
Perhaps I'm over worrying as I don't want him to be bored.
House isn't warm as the heating is off.

ania123 Mon 07-Feb-22 13:26:17

Yawning could also be a sign of dehydration. Worth having some water to see if it helps.

trisher Mon 07-Feb-22 13:31:49

Santana don't worry it isn't so much that dyslexics are bored but that sometimes their brain simply doesn't respond properly and their attention can simply slip away. It still happens to my DS now. He has amazing powers of concentration, sometimes, - he uses the reading facility on his laptop, so listens when he has a long piece of text to read, and he remembers more than I can when I listen. But he can still totally lose track of instructions or a conversation occasionally. You could try short intervals of learning with a short physical activity in between. Some teachers use this method. They do 10 mins of maths problems then a couple of minutes standing up passing a ball or playing "Simon says". They think it aids concentration. Good luck!

V3ra Mon 07-Feb-22 14:18:52

Is he having breaks during the day for some movement and fresh air outside?
Just wondering if his blood oxygen levels could be low or his circulation could be sluggish.
Also our eyes need time to look at something further away every so often, so if he's not doing that it could be tiring.

trisher Tue 08-Feb-22 10:43:46

Santana it just occurred to me that the yawning may be a good thing. A yawn is sometimes a way of releasing tension. Your GS's body after years of difficulty with education is automatically tensing up when the time for education comes, The yawn shows he is starting to relax with you. It's a compliment! www.wired.com/2015/06/big-question-yawn-im-nervous-stressed/

Santana Tue 08-Feb-22 11:30:48

Thank you Trisher for the attachment. I'm looking at his yawning in a different way now.
I'm going to try 10minute bursts of maths, with a drinks break away from the table.
I do feel that he is more relaxed with me than most people, perhaps I just need to read the signs better.

Oopsadaisy1 Tue 08-Feb-22 11:59:47

I yawn when I’m stressed, I’ve been known to fall asleep in the Dentists waiting room.
Well done though for teaching him at home, I’m sure he feels so much better being with his Gran.

MayBeMaw Tue 08-Feb-22 13:19:20

He couldn’t possibly be bored could he?
I mean Maths tutoring, what’s not to like?

Seriously, perhaps he needs a more active hands on approach.

Marmite32 Tue 08-Feb-22 16:01:43

Trisher wrote "There is some evidence that teenagers function less well in the morning". I've heard that too.
And many parents of teenage boys report they can't get them out of bed in the morning. They seem to need lots of sleep, maybe because this is the main age of growth. girls don't seem to need this extra sleep.
Good for you Santana teaching him maths. My husband is dyslexic but very quick and accurate with maths.

grandtanteJE65 Tue 01-Mar-22 12:59:46

Is the yawning a sign that his powers of concentration diminish after 10 minutes?

If so, work for twenty minutes paying no attention to his yawns for 10 of them, then hold a five minute break.

How long a time do you spend tutoring him in one go? Should the time be reduced or the day broken up by a maths lesson followed by something else then another maths lesson?

If the room you are in getting stuffy? Opening a window during a five minute break might do some good too.