Used in schools internationally, zones of regulation is a tool for children to identify a feeling and management techniques for self regulation. Parents can use the zones of regulation at home to build familiarity around emotional language and identifying feelings, help to communicate and connect and develop regulation skills that are so important for children’s mental wellbeing.

So, what is each zone? 

BLUE symbolises our lowest level of energy or mood. It encompasses emotions such as tired, sad, sick, bored and lonely. 
If we are in blue zone, regulation activities that give us more energy or stimulation are often helpful. In the classroom or home these can often be brain breaks, stretching, drinking water, quick burst exercises, talking to a friend or dancing. 

GREEN zone is where our neutral energy is. It is generally where we feel happy, calm and focused. Some schools use this zone as an ‘aim’ to get to for learning, but at Craftly we like to say that all zones are ok. This is because sometimes we need different energy levels for different things. For example, we need low energy to fall asleep at night. We might need higher energy for a swimming race! Some of the tools to use in green zone support an overall healthy mental mindset, so eating a healthy food, playing, talking with friends or learning something new are all helpful here.

YELLOW zone is where our bigger emotions and higher energy levels are at. Although it’s a heightened level of feeling in the yellow zone, we still have a sense of control over them. These emotions may be excited, anxious, frustrated or silly. Yellow zone can help us to fuel competitions, sport, playing but if our goal is to rest, learn, study or feel calm, then we may need to use some regulation tools. Some choices could be to take deep breaths, use a fidget toy, bounce or say positive affirmations. 

RED zone is where the most intense, overwhelming emotions are - this isn’t just anger, it could be elation or fear. This zone can help us in times of danger as we react quickly, but learning to manage these feelings is valuable. The tools we use here are generally calming, help us to claw back a sense of control and keep safe. These might look like mindful breathing, finding a quiet space, running and taking a break.

Remember - all zones are okay! The goal of zones of regulation is to recognise we feel a diverse range of emotions, energy levels and concentration everyday. The more we are aware of these, the better we can become at meeting our goals in the day and using the best regulation tools to do so. If we’re feeling excited in the yellow zone and we’re about to run a race, great! We don’t need to use a regulation tool here because we need that higher level of energy to sprint.

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