Chairs or stools?

Have you ever considered a new approach to seating in your setting? I’m Millie, and I’ll be discussing some of the key observations my staff and I gathered from using stools instead of chairs at my nursery, Millie’s Garden.

While traditional chairs may seem like a comfortable option for young children, their design can limit movement. In contrast, stools may offer surprising benefits for promoting a child's physical development.

First let’s look at how physical development can be enhanced with more versatile seating options. Then we’ll explore the things my staff discovered as we introduced stools into our room.

Why physical development matters when considering seating

It is important for all practitioners to understand that strong core muscles are the foundation for a child's physical development. Physical development is proximodistal, meaning it occurs from the centre of the body outwards. When a child first develops strength and control in the core muscles – the chest, shoulders and arms – they will eventually be able to refine the movements of the ‘distal’ areas, such as hands and fingers. Core strength and stability are important not only for gross motor development, but they also lay a strong foundation for fine motor skills.

So, how can we encourage this crucial development in young children? Let's explore the potential benefits of stools compared to traditional chairs in an early years setting, keeping in mind how movement can affect muscle, strength and activity. Our nursery observations, conducted over a month, suggest that stools may offer advantages in promoting core strength and stability in young children.

Our discoveries as we introduced stools into our setting

This past year, my team and I replaced the children’s chairs with stools in our nursery. As we observed how the children, aged between two and five, responded to the change in seating, we noted that stools offered the following:

No more rocking!

We found that children sat ‘appropriately’ on stools and were comfortable sitting for longer. There was no rocking or tilting the stools. By comparison, when seated on traditional chairs, a small number of children had been in the habit of tilting the chairs backwards, sometimes resulting in the chair (and child) falling. Stools resolved this problem.

This suggests that stools are more dynamic, allowing children more movement. Children need to move around - if they can't change position, they become unsettled. Changing posture often maintains comfort and focus.

Chairs offer one seating position, while stools offer many. It may be the restrictive nature of chairs that results in the rocking and scooting. With stools, our children naturally adjusted their postures easily, without compromising safety.

Better posture and movement

Next, we recognised changes in posture. When seated on chairs, children often slouched, sat off-centre or leant on the table. When the stools were introduced, however, the children sat up! Because there was no back support, the stools ensured that the children supported themselves. The change in posture suggests that sitting on stools may engage children’s core muscles, improving strength and balance.

Improved accessibility

For some of our children who struggle to sit still for long periods, stools appeared to be a welcome change. The ability to move slightly or stand up briefly helped them refocus and return to play more readily.

The 360-degree accessibility of the stools allowed these children to join the table time more easily. It was also simple for them to stand up and stretch and sit back down if they were focused on a task for longer periods.

Because the stools are lightweight and easy to manoeuvre, they allowed children more independence. Children stacked and moved the stools themselves in order to adjust their play space or participate in group activities.

More playful use

We were delighted to observe that the children found much broader uses for the stools than for chairs. The chairs were only ever used for sitting on. The stools, by comparison, were used for much more. The children moved them from place to place, used them as small tables, and stood on them. Stools became a "loose part" in the play environment, sparking creativity and imagination, and enriching the play.

Unlike chairs that are limited to sitting, stools can be:

• Stacked to create different structures (walls or towers).
• Moved around as props during pretend play (mini-tables or platforms).
• Used for other activities like stepping stones in a supervised obstacle course.
• Used upside down (boats or carousels).
• Easy to stack

Staff found that the stools were easier to stack and pack away than chairs. This was preferable as stools and chairs are often removed entirely from our space for certain activities. Being able to store the stools neatly was an unexpected but key benefit.

Conclusion

Incorporating stools into our nursery setting presented a surprising range of benefits for the children's physical development. Our observations over a month suggested that stools encouraged better balance, improved posture, and reduced discomfort compared to traditional chairs. The stools also sparked more creative play and offered greater ease of movement and storage for both children and staff.

While further research is needed to explore the long-term impact, this initial exploration suggests that stools can be a valuable tool for promoting core strength, stability, and a variety of movement patterns in young children.

Further learning

Help for early years providers : Core strength and co-ordination
EEF | Physical Development