… to be annoyed my son is missing break for yawning?

[DameBaggySmith]

My 7 y o is missing break tomorrow for yawning in class. He can be prone to being distracted and the child sitting next to him was already told off. However, he informs me on this occasion, all he did was yawn. The teacher then asked him if he yawned, rolled her eyes at him then put his name down to miss break.

AIBU to think this is insane? Especially as a) they are only allowed access to water at break time which he often forgets and yawning can be a sign of dehydration and b) he's waiting for an ADHD assessment so giving him less chances to burn off energy isn't going to help.

Obviously there is a chance that my son isn't telling the whole truth… which I will investigate, but if he is, I think this is ridiculous.

Is it not the law that the children have access to water generally? As in from a fountain or water machine at break.

Unless someone has a medical need, someone isn't going to dehydrate from not drinking during a 60 minute time span.

I would reach out to the teacher for this to make sure it didn't happen again. Children need their break time outside to run around or just breathe. It's vital for their wellbeing and concentration. What next? They can't eat/drink as punishment?
@DameBaggySmith It's a very silly punishment for something very minor. You can tell a 7-year old to yawn discreetly but they are still learning. Talk to the teacher and suggest other punishments for minor transgressions: ex. Write down why they think the teacher doesn't want children to yawn loudly in class.

Ummm right back at you

My 7 y o is missing break tomorrow for yawning in class. He can be prone to being distracted and the child sitting next to him was already told off. However, he informs me on this occasion, all he did was yawn.

Reading between the lines two 7 year olds were having a yawning competition and the teacher told them if they didn't stop they would miss break.

I highly doubt not yawning is in their behaviour policy!

But there is clear evidence that even a mild drop in your hydration status can affect learning, so if you cannot access water all day except lunch then their learning will suffer, especially in this hot weather.

I think that’s a lovely way of explaining how he ended up in trouble! You sound like a great teacher ❤️

From how you’ve described your child, it’s unlikely he was doing it in an over exaggerated, disruptive matter.

Having been a teacher, I’ve heard of colleagues dishing out detentions for yawning. It’s because they take it personally, that their yawn is a sign their lesson is boring. Which is ridiculous.

I remember getting detentions in school for yawning myself! It’s absolutely mental that kids are still being punished for something they have no control over.

I remember my favourite science teacher telling us that if you need a wee and don’t go, it can make you feel tired. Probably her worst mistake as we were all constantly saying we needed to go the toilet so we could stay awake 🤣 She really made a rod for her own back there!

Yet they’re still punishing it. Crazy.

Except it's not just lunch is it. It's before school, break, lunch, after school, evening.

Agree.

Its amazing how so many simple things can be turned in to a performative art form by teenagers.

But then they wouldn't be able to use the excuses of
But I only yawned/farted/burped
I was only get a drink of water.
I was getting something out of my bag
I was putting my coat on my chair.
I was giving a friend a pen/pencil/ruler.
I was only walking to my desk (the ten minute way to sit down)
I was only asking (normally someone across the class) a question.
I was only out of my seat because I has to ask (someone) something that I didn't understand about the lesson.

There are many more but I am sure that you get the idea.

And currently dealing with another issue where the children in after school club say they're currently not allowed to talk in case it is too loud for the staff.
So all these 'new rules' are only coming from children? Are you confirming with school?

7 Year old you say? So in year 2. He's no longer a baby.

I think all parents of school aged children should be forced to volunteer at least a week in a classroom. You'd soon stop this nonsense of my poor darling didn't deserve a ticking off from the teacher. You know what, teachers are doing the best they can. He yawned probably just after his teacher had to deal with other disruptive behaviour especially from the boys next to him. This was going to set off everyone off again. Do you want your dc to learn? Well no children learn if people are constantly messing around.

Teachers are only human and will use judgement and signal annoyance as that's what humans do when they deal with challenging behaviour. Maybe home schooling or online school is better for your son @DameBaggySmith , so he doesn't have to deal with a real human being's boundaries and facial expression.

7 year olds are still very young though and still learning how to behave and social niceties. My DS is 7, his mid year report mentioned that he gets a bit too chatty in class, and is quick to join in if others are being silly, and he has a tendency to make noises while working (he hums a lot, and other similar noises). He was not punished for any of these, instead his teacher just talked to him about it and helped him learn that he needs to be quieter in class and there was no mention of these issues in his last report.

7 is year 2 so op's son will have had nearly 3 years of school and should absolutely know how not to behave in the classroom. And while it's pleasant for your son that his noises, humming and disruptive behaviour were managed with such ongoing patience, it will have been an annoying nightmare for the well behaved children sitting near him who had to try and focus on their despite his distractions.

His school works really hard with children to meet their needs, one child needed zero distractions so they put one of those moveable mini walls next to her desk so she wouldn't be distracted by anyone sitting next to her, others had other interventions, and every child can take ear defenders to wear if they want quiet to work. I much prefer that to a school that would make a child miss their breaktime, which is time children sorely need to help them focus in class, simply for yawning.

Though I'm not sure his humming is entirely voluntary, he has had tics before and I suspect that was another tic but it has calmed down now, like his other tics did. But chatting and joining in with silliness was something he did have to learn to stop, and he did, without punishment.

You weren’t there so don’t know what actually happened.

recollections can vary on both sides.

let it go and move on. You won’t get the time back and you’ve had a discussion with your child.

I know children are reminded to have drinks throughout the day as I’ve worked in schools. I’ve even seen some kids tip out water so they look like they’ve drunk some! The children choose not to as they want to get out to play.