School readiness survey - surprising?

[GirlfromtheNorthLondonCountry]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jan/30/some-children-starting-school-unable-to-climb-staircase-finds-england-and-wales-teacher-survey

Is it really the case that 4 year olds (absent disabilities) are unable to climb stairs or sit on the rug because of too much screen time? It just seems so extraordinary to me.

Where was your child's other parent in this?

I heard this mentioned on LBC radio this afternoon, and was incredulous.
What is wrong with society?
The woman on the radio said books are crucial for children, and just gawping at a phone or tablet all the time is really bad for them.

This is a very natural way to rear young children- lots of walking and activities and plenty of books from charity shops or libraries.
Children love to be read to, even babies, looking at the pictures.

Well this is enlightening.

I have a near 3 year old. He does weekly swimming. He would absolutely not be able to be in a pool without 1-1. He would literally drown.

Likewise stairs. He climbs up the stairs (his legs are too short too actually step); but he goes down backwards still. Which to be fair we mandate because as I said his legs are too short. Plus our stairs are equivalent of a 3 story spiralling gallery style so absolutely deadly. I have been wondering at what point I can let him just walk down the stairs like a normal person.

Potty training. Thats a nightmare. The wees going great. Poo is a no goer. He will not poo in a potty! No idea how to crack that yet.

@Hoover2025 that all sounds normal for a two/three year old, I wouldn’t worry. You still have lots of time before he starts school.

Do toddlers still get their Bookstart books?

This, in spades.

@Galashiels
i actually think on the whole daycare is not the issue here. When a child is in nursery they have relentless paperwork to monitor the child’s development and ensure it aligns with the early years education framework. They are not sat on screens all day, they are reading, singing, drawing, playing, learning.

The iPad children are in their own homes with disengaged parents.

I've never been in a primary school with more than one storey anyway. The problem is these ridiculous mega schools which are not suitable for any kids. Build loads more reasonably sized schools. Two form entry max for primary schools.

The support is a big one, I don’t understand where you go if you are struggling. My oldest is 3.5 and due to the bad combination of Covid and the post covid excuse for cuts she has never seen a health visitor! If she had any issues there is no real official record of her or any interest in her safety or development. There was one HV phone call when she was a baby, another short one for a 1 year review and that’s been it. I always think about the poor children who will have totally slipped through the net due to this, in terms of their development and care but also it enables abuse at home.

That’s horrendous.

I do agree though. Its all very well blaming the parents and of course they have a responsibility but some parents aren’t capable and need support that has been slowly eroded away.

Absolutely - my children are nearly 6, the other is 3.5. The 3.5 year old had all HV appts in person. It was my eldest who missed out - so I’m surprised your child did too.

But 80-85 percent of children are in some form of childcare between 0 and 4. So if their needs are being met then surely you'd expect most of them to be school ready?

We have always bought books for grandchildren instead of Easter Eggs and advent calendars. We went to visit DSS and three under 5 grandchildren after covid who had moved away. We gave them their books and I will never forget their reactions as if we were lunatics gifting them books!
DSS said he can't read books to the kids as his reading was poor. But he managed to read his Facebook feed every minute of the day. At bedtime they all had tablets to settle them in bed even the 18 month old.
Out of our 11 grandchildren only 4 don't have tablets or TV to settle them to sleep.
Obviously it's none of my business I'm not their parents I'm just putting it forward as a random comment in the context of this thread.
On the other hand the number of apps we have been advised to access for different things with kids by professionals and then when DD has said about limiting screen time they look as if to say yes but we have to tell you this to tick our box you have to say yes I will look not oh I limit screen time!
It is extraordinary to see everybody on screens everywhere you look. People walking, standing at bus stops, workmen - don't get me started on them. Kids see this as the norm. And here I am posting this using my phone.🥴

I don't know how that actually reflects on people who read.

I am an avid reader and I collect books.

My book collection isn't suitable for little children (clumsy fingers on delicate pages...) and my everyday reading is done on an e reader. When DC were out of picture books, they too moved on to an e reader (cheaper than physical books). Cue swipe not turn pages.

We are also a bi lingual family and having apps, videos and books all in one place in the 2nd language is a godsend.

Now, I know my situation is pretty unique... but maybe not? Many people read with e readers. Dont most primary age Children do some reading/ maths exercises on a screen? After all, even homework is done via an app (secondary school).

Books and reading is just one of the things children & adults can do as their pastime.

I agree, reading comprehension is important for children's development but in the end, the format is secondary - book or tablet, who cares?

There’s a girl in my Yr 11 class who doesn’t have a book at home. The only books she’s ever read are the ones she’s had to for GCSE. She just achieved a grade 2 in her mock.

“Some form” being the key factor.
The figure using official childcare is around 60% in 2023.

Disposable nappies being so cheap is a factor too. In the early 90s pampers cost around £9 a pack that was a massive incentive to potty train. But also the super locked in dryness of disposable nappies doesn't help.
I know all kids are different we have one gd who just put pants on and that was it trained day and night aged 2.5 she just did it herself. But in my experience it isn't as easy as it used to be.

i was pretty much raised by my game boy 😂screens were very much a thing even in the 90s

Haven’t read the full thread but i’ve worked with children all my working life ( nearly 30 years) and absolutley screens are a lot to blame. Of course this is not all children and all parents. Children can absolutely have access to screens and still develop their skills however so many families rely on them far too much.

In my experience it’s easier for a busy parent to put a screen in front of a baby and toddler than actually sit and play with them. Babies given their own tablets to watch Miss rachel over and over….

They play games on them but don’t play physical games. Oh they can do a jigsaw on their tablet…. but what about their manipulative skills?? Some parents don’t even realise children don’t ‘play’ on their own and that they often need adult guidance and interaction especially in their earlier years. Don’t forget the sedentary nature that comes with playing on a tablet.

Children and young people’s concentration is affected as many just sit and scroll short videos like tik tok offer… instant gratification. They can even watch a half hour programme anymore. Concentrate on small tasks and so on.

Yes there is education issues with some parents and how to parent as they probably weren’t parented either. But their is the easy option from many which is the ipad/tablet. It’s no wonder these children start schooled so far behind!

I had a hell of a time toilet training DS. No SEN. We started trying at 2.4ish as he was going and hiding when it was time, and we’d been changing him in the bathroom since he was confidently standing and showing him the toilet etc. but he just would not entertain sitting on a toilet or potty. Waited a while and tried again, but it was winter and less easy to be outside a lot or be in easy-to remove clothes. He then started to use the potty at about 3.6 and it took weeks and weeks for it to really click without me reminding him every 5 minutes, and there were some absolute dramas including me diving like a footballer to catch a turd in my outstretched hands in my mum’s living room. I was panicking at this point because the school registration was due in a couple of months and I genuinely thought he wouldn’t get it by then or that I would have to defer him. It finally clicked by about 3.9, and he’s still not dry at night now at 4.11.

The books thing makes me sad. But I can see how reading regularly or at all is just impossible for some families.

@PrioritisePleasure24 my own observation with my children is that when they use a tablet they “zone in” to the exclusion of the outside world. My children watch the tv but I find they watch it for a bit then gravitate away and start to play etc. Whereas with a tablet they are like zombies!

I'm so skeptical of these kinds of stories.
I live in a deprived area. Our kids are a little behind compared to middle class kids. But not that far behind!
I'm just not seeing these 4 and 5 years olds who aren't potty trained or who can't sit on a carpet.
As for Americanisms: language changes, so what?

Long ago my Dad used to run a playgroup and, for a time was treasurer of the national pre school play groups association.

He came home once with a story about a playgroup on the ground floor of a tower block. All the playgroup kids lived in the block, or surrounding blocks.
One day it rained and all the kids ran to the window to watch.
They had seen rain pass by their windows. But, poor things, they'd never seen it hit the ground.

This was bollocks of course. But the story circulated because tower blocks were relatively new and people had anxieties around them.

I haven't heard anything recently about kids that don't understand rain. Because that anxiety has passed.
All this "screen time" stuff will be the same.

I was working with children pre covid that were struggling with the above mentioned. Covid/lockdowns has added to it some cases but what will be the excuse when children born after 21 when no lockdowns occurred?

DS had an almost completely screen free home life until he was about 5 years old. It was not purely through choice on my part: he found screens way too overstimulating. Being in the same room as a TV for 5 mins would properly dysregulate him for hours. I have never heard anyone else say this about their DC, but he can’t be unique. Ironically it was school that desensitised him to screens, although it did take them years and in the mean time he found it difficult to access lessons using smart screens etc.