Sit! Stay! It's the mantra of every classroom, and it also transcends family dynamics.
Children have bodies that are less prepared than ever to learn. With sensory systems that don't function well, they are asked to sit still and pay attention. Children naturally start moving to get the movement their bodies desperately need and aren't getting enough to "turn on their brains." What happens when children start moving? We ask them to sit still and pay attention; therefore, their brains go back to "sleep."
Fidgeting is a real problem. It's a strong indicator that children aren't moving enough, not getting enough exercise during the day. We need to address the underlying problem. In classrooms, recess times need to be extended, and children should play outside as soon as they get out of school. Twenty minutes of movement a day isn't enough! They need outdoor play to establish a healthy sensory system and 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 is changing as evidence shows that taking short activity breaks throughout the day helps children learn and pay more attention in class, and a growing number of programs designed to promote movement are being adopted in schools (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 sit still and be quiet all the time.” “Active time spent energizing your brain makes all those moments better, more productive times.” A 2013 report from the Institute of Medicine concluded that children who are more active “show increased attention span, 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 kids are using to learn, it 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)