Sit down! Still! The mantra of every classroom: ask children to be still. It also transcends family dynamics.

Children have bodies that are less prepared than ever to learn. With sensory systems that are not working well, and they are asked to sit up and pay attention. Children naturally start moving to get the movement their body desperately needs and isn't getting enough to “turn on their brain.” What happens when children start to move? We ask that you stay still and pay attention; therefore, your brain goes back to “sleep.”

Jittering is a real problem. It is a strong indicator that children are not moving enough, they are not getting enough exercise during the day. We have to solve the underlying problem. In classrooms, recess times need to be extended and children should play outside as soon as they leave school. Twenty minutes of movement a day is not enough! They need outdoor play in order to establish a healthy sensory system and to support higher level attention.

For children to learn, they need to be able to pay attention. To pay attention, we must let them move. But that's changing as evidence shows that taking short activity breaks throughout the day helps children learn and be more attentive in class, and a growing number of programs designed to promote movement in schools are being adopted ( Hadson, A., 2014).

“We need to recognize that children are movement-based” (Gatens, B.) “In schools, we are pushing against human nature to ask them to stay still and silent all the time.” “Active time used to energize your brain makes all those moments better and more productive.” A 2013 report from the Institute of Medicine concluded that children who are more active "show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active."

"Activity stimulates more blood vessels in the brain, movement activates all the brain cells that children are using to learn, wakes up the brain and they pay more attention in school." "This is a digital generation that expects to be entertained, and we're not thinking about the child as a whole person, how physical activity helps them cope with the stress of school and actually benefits them in the classroom" (DiStefano, L .)

For children to learn, they need to be able to pay attention. To pay attention, we must let them move (Hadson, A., 2014).

Cristina Oroz Bajo

Original sources:

Why so many kids can't sit still in school today? (Hadson, A., 2014)

Why Kids Shouldn't Sit Still in Class . (Dela Cruz, D., 2017)