Understanding the Zones of Regulation

Ally Bremer
May 17
4 min read

Updated: Jun 5

You may have noticed that kids have a tendency to struggle with big emotions such as frustration over a difficult math problem, anxiety about a social situation, or full-on meltdown mode when it’s time to leave the playground. You may be asking: “How do I help my child understand their feelings, and what to do with them?” One tool that is helpful for helping kids build emotional awareness and self-regulation is a framework called The Zones of Regulation. The zones offer a simple, visual, and incredibly effective way to help children, and adults, recognize and manage their emotional states.

The Zones of Regulation group our emotions, energy levels, and states of alertness into four color-coded zones:

Blue Zone – The blue zone is when we have a low state of alertness

o Common emotions that may be felt in the blue zone are sad, tired, bored, and sick.

o It often feels sluggish, low energy, or withdrawn

o An example may be a child who didn’t sleep well and can’t concentrate at school

Green Zone – The green zone is when are feeling good

o Emotions that can be felt in the green zone include calm, happy, focused, and ready to learn

o In the green zone one may feel balanced, regulated, and comfortable

o An example of a child in the green zone may be one who is working quietly on a puzzle or participating in class

Yellow Zone – The yellow zone is when we have elevated emotions and/or heightened alertness

o Emotions that one may experience in the yellow zone are frustrated, excited, silly, nervous, and worried

o When in the yellow zone you may feel fidgety, agitated, or intense

o An example is a child who is giggling uncontrollably during story time or getting overwhelmed by a new situation

Red Zone – The red zone is when we are feeling out of control

o Emotions that may put us in the red zone are angry, terrified, and out of control

o It can feel very intense and overwhelming

o An example of someone in the red zone may be a child who is having a meltdown or lashing out in anger

What makes the Zones so effective is that they take something abstract like emotions and turn them into something visual and concrete that kids can identify and work with. Kids often times do not have the vocabulary to express how they are feeling, or they may not want to say what they are feeling. In these instances, it can be a lot earlier for a child to say, “I’m in the Yellow Zone” rather than “I’m feeling nervous and overstimulated.” Once we know what zone we are in, we can figure out what we need to do to feel better.

Here are a few ways that you can use the Zones of regulation with your child:

Introduce the Zones Through Discussion - Start by explaining the Zones using examples your child can relate to. You can say things like: “Remember when you were giggling at bedtime and couldn’t settle down? That was the Yellow Zone.” or “You were calm and focused while building your Lego tower, that’s the Green Zone.” Using visuals can help. Posters, emotion cards, or simple charts with faces and colors can make a huge difference, especially for younger kids or those with communication differences.

Make a “Zones Check-In” Part of the Day- Create a daily habit of checking in. You can ask questions like: “What zone are you in right now?” and “What zone were you in this morning at school?” This builds self-awareness and helps kids reflect on how their bodies and minds feel. Using a mirror can help kids look at their facial expressions and match them to a zone. This helps build emotional literacy.

Create a Toolbox of Regulation Strategies- Once a child can identify their zone, the next step is learning what helps them shift or stay in a zone. Together, build a personalized toolbox of strategies for each color. Let the child help choose what works for them:

o Blue Zone tools: Stretch, listen to music, talk to someone, take deep breaths

o Green Zone tools: Drink water, play, smile, help a friend

o Yellow Zone tools: Squeeze a stress ball, take a break, slow breathing, use a fidget toy

o Red Zone tools: Go to a quiet space, count to 10, get help from an adult, take a walk

Keep the toolbox visual. You can use cards or posters with images of the tools and review them regularly.

Model and Normalize Your Own Zones- Kids learn best through observation. Let them see you recognizing your own emotional states. Some examples may be “I’m feeling a bit in the Yellow Zone right now. I think I need to take a few deep breaths.” or “I was definitely in the Red Zone earlier when I spilled coffee on my papers. But I calmed down by taking a walk.” By showing that adults also move through the Zones, and use strategies to regulate, we teach kids that it’s okay to feel all the feelings and that there are ways to manage those feelings.

The Zones of Regulation provide kids with a simple but powerful language to understand and manage their emotional world. When we give children the tools to label their feelings, recognize their needs, and make thoughtful choices, we empower them to become more resilient, independent, and confident. No matter your child’s age or challenges, the Zones of Regulation can help them navigate emotions with greater ease and empathy.