Let’s introduce Josie. Josie is a bright, bubbly child often described as a “chatterbox” with a body that’s always in motion. She is fast, intuitive… and her nervous system works overtime.
One day, I was told Josie was struggling to “sit still and listen” during group time.
Hardly shocking for our Josie, but instead of going straight into correcting, I chose curiosity. and I asked her:
“Hey Josie, can I ask you a question? How does it feel when you sit still during group time?”
Her eyes lit up. No one had asked her that before.
She replied at lightning speed:
“Oh! I can sit still. I just have to think about keeping my legs crossed, keeping my hands in my lap, keeping my eyes on the teacher, not asking questions, keeping my mouth closed, ignoring the kids next to me, ignoring my scratchy uniform, ignoring the aircon on my neck, and thinking about what we are doing, what she’s saying, what everyone else is saying… but I can sit still!”
I paused.
Then I used one of my favourite strategies:
Say what you see, and ask a question.
“That sounds like a lot going on in your head,” I said. “So what happens then?”
Her voice softened.
“Well, then I can’t hear the teacher. So once it’s finished I put my hand up to ask what we’re meant to be doing and I get in trouble!”
“Sit” and “listen” are two different skills
Consider this phrase: “She’s still learning to sit and listen.”
We say that like it’s one skill... But it isn’t.
Sitting still and listening are two different skills.
- Sitting still is a body-based self-control task, involving inhibition, postural control, sensory tolerance, and often sustained discomfort.
- Listening is a cognitive and relational task, involving attention, comprehension, working memory, and language processing.
Children can learn to sit still and be compliant.
Children can learn to listen and engage.
Sometimes they can do both at once.
When we tell a child to “sit and listen”, we are often asking them to master two separate skills, and then pair them up, and perform them simultaneously in an environment that overloads their nervous system.
What difference does movement really make?
I asked Josie a second question:
“And what happens if you can move your body during group time?”
Her whole body relaxed.
“Well, then I can listen. I don’t have to think about anything else.”
So for Josie, when she was moving at the back of the mat, she was learning. When she was sitting perfectly still, she wasn’t.
From a neuroscience lens, this makes sense. Attention and working memory are not bottomless. They’re more like a small mental “workspace”. When a child is using most of that workspace to manage their body, stay in the right position, ignore sensory distractions, and follow invisible rules, there’s simply less capacity left for processing meaning, remembering instructions, and integrating new learning (Olive et al., 2024).
This is where movement becomes relevant. When children move regularly, we see stronger foundations for the skills needed for group settings, such as flexible thinking, self-control and willingness to engage (Mavilidi et al., 2025).
This doesn’t have to mean running laps or turning educators into PE teachers. We can weave short, purposeful movement into everyday moments (McGowan, 2024).
It also helps to rethink what we call “fidgeting”. For some children, especially those with attentional challenges, small movements are part of how their nervous system holds attention. Wiggles, taps, shifts, and busy hands can be a way to stay alert during repetitive, language-heavy, or low-novelty experiences. Movement and attention are not enemies. Sometimes movement is the strategy that protects attention (Son et al., 2024).
One particular form of movement called “vestibular input” includes spinning, rocking, swinging and bouncing and is closely tied to attention and regulation, so vestibular movement can shift a child or young person into a brain state where listening and thinking are more possible (Jostrup et al., 2023).
In Phoenix Cups language, I often think about this through a needs lens. For many children, movement meets our need for Freedom and Fun (Phoenix, 2021). When those Cups are running low, we often see behaviours emerge and more struggles in group contexts, simply because children's nervous systems are working overtime to meet their unmet needs.
So what do we care about more?
Do we care more about a child sitting and being compliant?
Or a child learning?
Because if learning is the goal, then our “success criteria” for group times must shift. Maybe the child who is wiggling, rocking, lying on their tummy, or standing at the back is not being disrespectful. Maybe they’re doing the smartest thing their body knows to do in that moment so they can actually take in what’s happening.
What I’ll do differently (and what you might try tomorrow)
Since Josie, I’ve been planning group moments with a different lens. Not “How do I get everyone to sit and listen?” but:
- How can children participate in different ways?
- How can I make it safe to move and still belong?
- How do I stop measuring listening by stillness?
Some practical shifts:
- Plan for voluntary group times: Give children the opportunity to ‘opt-in.’
- Offer “choose-your-body” participation: sit, kneel, stand, lie on tummy, hold a small object.
- Build in predictable movement: action songs, stretch-and-breathe moments, “go and show me” moments.
- Invite listening from the edges: children can stay connected while moving nearby.
- Keep it short and worth coming to: novelty and joy support attention.
- Look for the quiet overload: a child who appears compliant may be coping, not learning.
Group time can absolutely be beautiful, powerful moments of shared joy, when they are flexible, voluntary, movement-friendly, and genuinely engaging.
Reflective questions for educators
- What am I seeing as “not listening” and what evidence do I actually have?
- Am I measuring learning by stillness, or by understanding and participation?
- What might this child’s body be trying to do for them right now (regulate, focus, feel safe, cope with sensory input)?
- Which parts of group time seem easiest for this child, and which parts tip them into overload?
- Have I unintentionally created a “sit still test” rather than a learning experience?
- How many instructions am I expecting children to hold in working memory right now?
- What sensory factors might be increasing load (noise, crowding, scratchy mat, lighting, aircon, proximity)?
Reflective questions we can ask children and young people
- When you’re listening what does your body like to do?
- Do you listen better when you’re still, or when you can move a little?
- What helps your brain stay with the story; hands busy, feet moving, sitting close, sitting back?
- How can I tell when your brain is getting tired?
- Is anything bothering your body (too loud, too close, too itchy, too bright)?
- Would it help if I said that again in a smaller way?
References
Jostrup, E., Nyström, P., Sörman, D. E., & Söderlund, G. B. W. (2023). Effects of stochastic vestibular stimulation on cognitive performance in children with ADHD. Experimental Brain Research, 241(11–12), 2693–2703. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06713-7
Mavilidi, M. F., Zou, L., Li, J., Cliff, D. P., Pesce, C., Abdeta, C., Paas, F., & Howard, S. J. (2025). Adherence to 24-hour movement guidelines: Cognitive effects in Australian preschoolers. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 29, 100712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2025.100712
McGowan, A. L. (2024). Infusing physical activity into early childhood classrooms: Guidance for best practices. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01532-5
Olive, L. S., Telford, R. M., Westrupp, E., & Telford, R. D. (2024). Physical activity intervention improves executive function and language development during early childhood: The active early learning cluster randomized controlled trial. Child Development, 95(2), 544–558. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14014
Phoenix, S. (2021). Educator Toolkit for Behaviour. Wellington Point, Queensland: Phoenix Support Publishing.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and wellbeing. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
Son, H. M., Calub, C. A., Fan, B., Dixon, J. F., Rezaei, S., Borden, J., Schweitzer, J. B., & Liu, X. (2024). A quantitative analysis of fidgeting in ADHD and its relation to performance and sustained attention on a cognitive task. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1394096. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1394096
Zask, A., Pattinson, M., Ashton, D., Ahmadi, M., Trost, S., Irvine, S., Stafford, L., Delbaere, K., & Adams, J. (2023). The effects of active classroom breaks on moderate to vigorous physical activity, behaviour and performance in a Northern NSW primary school: A quasi-experimental study. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 34, 799–808. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.688
Author: Briana Throne