Should 4-year-olds really be expected to sit still?

Publication date

25 August 2025

Author

Poppy LeMar (she/her)

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Reception teacher Poppy LeMar responds to Bridget Phillipson’s claim that “half can’t sit still” at age four, explaining that while children can sit briefly, their self-regulation is still developing. She highlights what sitting still actually looks like in a reception classroom, challenges misconceptions, and encourages better understanding between families and educators. She also advocates for inclusion and realistic expectations.

Half of reception children can’t sit still…

Back in July 2025 Bridget Phillipson (Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, United Kingdom) held a press conference during which she made some bold statements which surprisingly, I could acknowledge most to be accurate while others had social media in uproar.

The main statement that caused upset by Bridget Phillipson is “half can’t sit still” referring to four-year-olds starting their first year of formal education in England.

I am not a political person, nor do I refer to politics on my social media accounts, yet I felt compelled to share my take on the statements with my Instagram followers. Which lead me to realising there is very little understanding of what happens within primary schools and what is expected of children in their first years of schooling in England.

Developmentally can they sit still?

At age four, most children’s gross and fine motor systems are developed enough that they can sit upright in a chair, keep their body still, and hold a posture. Studies of postural control show that by age four, children have sufficient balance and muscular endurance for sitting (Haywood and Getchell, 2020). At this stage, their coordination begins to improve significantly, allowing them to engage more effectively in various activities that require both stability and precision. This development is crucial as it supports their ability to sit in a traditional position and posture. In a traditional classroom setting, sitting attentively is often necessary.

Can a four-year-old physically sit still?

Yes, we’ve all witnessed a child sat transfixed by a screen of some sort by their own request for varying amounts of time. This proves the ability is there. It does not mean they ‘need’ or can sit still for extended periods of time by request of another. What is limited is not their physical ability but their self-regulation and sustained attention. Research on executive function shows that inhibitory control — the ability to suppress the urge to move or fidget — is still emerging at this age (Zelazo, Carlson, and Kesek, 2008).

Should they sit still?

Whilst being able to sit still for short periods of time up to a minute or two when they have been requested to do so by another we need to look at the reasoning behind this. A lot of the responses on social media to the press conference were in relation to parents not wanting their child to sit still in school at age four.

What actually happens in school?

As a reception teacher I will ask my students to sit still and quiet for roughly 90 seconds each morning and each afternoon. Let me break down why I do this and what it looks like in my classroom…

I am requesting this for their safety, I need to take a register to know exactly who is in my care that day. I explain this to the children at an age appropriate level. I ask them to sit in a space on the carpet. I ask them to begin with their legs crossed and bottoms on the carpet, this protects both their own personal space and their peers’ personal space. They may fidget, they may wiggle and that is exactly what I expect to happen. I monitor the situation to ensure all children are comfortable within their own space. I ask for quiet – not silence. The children will whisper, giggle and chat. If it gets too loud I may remind them I need all of them as a classroom family to be super quiet to help me keep them safe.

Beyond this we don’t expect a child to sit quietly very often, we will do story time, no different to bedtime stories where you’d hope a child was engaged and listening, this often naturally leads to the children listening in silence wanting to hear the story. We will so do two or three whole class inputs where we explicitly teach an idea or concept where any good reception teacher will have them not sat in silence, they will have them interacting, speaking and moving their body to aid learning, yet they will likely be sat on a carpet to ensure all children can equally see and hear the teaching adult.

What about children with SEND?

So many responses to my reel and the press conference were from accounts that stated they were parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), believing they were not being accounted for. The press conference we’ve established was poorly worded, and I feel it was aimed at the country’s large majority of students. Any teachers with a child in their class with additional needs will automatically consult their adults at home and any official paper work like an early healthcare plan (EHCP) with specialist advice and proceed accordingly. Every child is a unique person no matter their ability and every teacher will have a personal expectation of every single child.

Key takeaways

Four-year-olds can physically sit still for short periods of time.
Being able to sit still is a good sign of gross motor skills if a child can sit for a period of time.
There are moments when children are asked to sit quietly in school, this will look different in every classroom and is rarely statue like in silence.
Consideration of additional needs should always be taken on board.
It is important for parents/carers to speak to their child’s teacher if they have concerns.

Critical considerations

Be aware that even though we have an education secretary she is not a fully trained teacher who is currently in the classroom – she will not know what teachers and children are doing or experiencing in real time.
Reception is very different to every other single year of the child’s schooling, it is important for parents/carers to speak to teachers, particularly directly with your child’s teacher to understand more.
Any good teacher would not have higher expectations of a child than they have of themselves – I cannot sit without fidgeting, I do not expect my children to sit without fidgeting. I may ask them to consider fidgeting in a different way if it is disturbing the comfort of another child.
Every teacher, classroom, class and school have different rules, routines, expectations and policies – it is important for parents/carers to look at these for their child’s school – most of these will be on the website or available on request.

References

Haywood, K.M. and Getchell, N., 2020. Life span motor development. 7th ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Zelazo, P.D., Carlson, S.M. and Kesek, A., 2008. The development of executive function in early childhood. In: C.A. Nelson and M. Luciana, eds. Handbook of developmental cognitive neuroscience. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp.553–574.