Children forced to sit still for inappropriate early years activities often show behaviour problems, says Jennie Lindon
What has gone awry in early years settings where the adults complain that the children 'won't sit still', 'can't concentrate' and 'are all hyperactive'? Of course, some children have genuine struggles with attention control and need help, because their behaviour is noticeably different from their peers in the same setting. But if most, or many of the children, are judged to have problems in behaviour of this nature, it is far more likely that adult behaviour and attitudes are at the root of the difficulty.
In some early years settings, what seems to have gone wrong is a combination of adult anxiety and misunderstanding about early learning:
- Good early years practice in the UK pioneered the idea of children learning outdoors and through a rich play curriculum. Yet changes throughout the 1970s and 80s created the belief that intellectual development was more important and time outside was just for children to 'let off steam'.
- With this particular slippery slope also came the idea that young children can only concentrate when they re-main still, ideally sitting up at a table.
- In the 1990s, early years teams also felt driven by the need to produce paper evidence of children's learning.
Pressure for evidence
Concern about how to 'prove' that children have achieved learning targets has led some teams towards unwise practice. It seems easier to get children to complete endless worksheets, even if they do not want to sit and do this task. Children who resist doing the worksheets may then be seen as 'difficult' or 'unable to persevere in a task'.
In fact, the children are bored and fail to see the point of doing this paper and pencil exercise. Some children are simply keen to complete their 'work' and get back to their play, in which they often show exactly the skills that the worksheet-focused adults are trying to get on to paper.
A team member of a pre-school told me that they had been trying to assess children's understanding of the concept of pairs with worksheets depicting socks. The more active children were unenthusiastic, to say the least. The team discussed the situation, brought in loads of socks and set up a domestic role play. All the children, including the active boys, were keen to sort, match and pair up the socks and demonstrated their skills with enthusiasm.
Concentration skills
An early learning goal from the English Foundation Stage is to 'Maintain attention, concentrate and sit quietly as appropriate' and a desirable outcome from the Welsh document is to 'Concentrate for lengthening periods when involved in appropriate tasks'. Perhaps adults need to triple underline the word 'appropriate', as well as read the rest of the curriculum documents for their part of the UK.
None of the guidance claims that children can only concentrate indoors or sitting up to table activities, but this is the unfortunate interpretation made by some teams. Children can pay careful attention when taking part in many different activities, including highly active play and especially outdoor games. In fact, the requirement to stay still makes it much harder for children to attend well.
Irritated early years practitioners tend to label children whose boredom shows through 'inappropriate' activity. They may be labelled with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) when they are only behaving like normal three- and four-year-olds. The children want to run, move their bodies and change activity when they choose, rather than have to follow some adult-determined rota.
No literacy hours
Staying still for what seems like ages or sitting 'nicely' in a large group is hard for three- to five-year-olds. It is a clear message to us if the children want to 'call out' or squirm around in a lengthy group session. Some vote with their feet and wander away to a more interesting part of the setting.
Full-scale literacy hours are an inappropriate way to cover early literacy with five-year-olds; they have been a disaster when used with younger children. Yet many three-year-olds adore books and are keen to get weaving with their own early mark-making. Recently, several three- and four-year- olds in a family centre pulled up their chairs alongside an Ofsted inspector and busily made their own observation notes. The inspector was equally delighted with this evidence of emergent writing!
Younger children who find group story time hard can concentrate impressively with their chosen books and a focused adult, perhaps with one or two other children - this could be arranged on a daily basis. A child's attention can be held by adults who are enthusiastic storytellers or who run an interesting and suitably small circle time. But such activities work because children are kept active in mind and the group is not too large.
Young children should not be labelled a 'problem' or 'naughty' because they want to be physically active. But we should also be equally worried about the impact on children's enthusiasm for learning if they are willing to sit still for ages. I once watched several four-year-olds sit in silence with an equally silent adult for close to ten minutes. They did nothing, although they were sitting at a table laid with magnifying glasses and objects. The children tolerated this waiting period until they were released to something more interesting. What had they learned?
Learning outdoors
Physical exercise creates mental alertness and children also benefit from variety in what they are doing. They also need to practise the vital skills of balance and co-ordination, which are the building blocks for writing skills. Children can concentrate, co-operate and learn outside - I have watched them sustain thoughtful outdoor projects, as well as holding lengthy conversations with adults and each other. Adults can support that concentration by finding ways that an unfinished project can be left, and ways to document it, for instance with photos.
Children also benefit from being involved in all the daily routines that affect their day. Rather than letting them become edgy while sitting on a mat waiting for adults to tidy up, it is far better to organise tidying up times with them. They will then become absorbed and animated, and direct their physical energy into results of which they can rightly be proud. n
Further reading
- Jacqui Cousins (1999), Listening to four-year-olds: how they can help us plan their education and care, National Early Years Network (tel: 020 7607 9573)
- Jennie Lindon (2001), Understanding children's play, Nelson Thornes
- Marjorie Ouvry (2000), Exercising muscles and minds: outdoor play and the early years curriculum, National Early Years Network
