Rethinking the Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation includes some strategies and tools that are helpful to children. This program was created by an occupational therapist to teach self-regulation and is used by educators and therapists.
There is a Lot to Learn
However, there is a lot for a child to learn in the program and it can sometimes be overwhelming. Adults have to learn a lot too and to be able to understand it. In social media groups I often see adults asking questions to clarify which zone a particular behavior may fall into (e.g., “so if it is bedtime and we know the child is tired, but they are running around in a hyper state, what zone are they in?”). So, if the adults don’t know, how do we expect children to know and understand?
What if a Child Masks Their Feelings?
It also doesn’t take into account how a child feels when we can’t see signs of their emotional state. For example, a child who can mask their extreme anxiety may feel like they are in the yellow zone, but we don’t see outward signs such as a wiggly body, then we may think that they are in the green zone. Though they may appear to be paying attention to their teacher, their minds are going a million miles per minute and their heart rate is up. This can make teaching the Zones very challenging, especially for children who are concrete thinkers or who may lack interoceptive awareness to understand their own body signals.
The Colors Can Be Triggering
The other thing to be mindful of is that the colors can be triggering to some children. It’s not really the fault of the creator, but a reality we have to consider when we use it. The colors can be an issue when children have been in a classroom where there is a “clip” system–where they have had to move their name to a classroom display if they are having an off-moment or day. Often these displays are color-coded so that the “bad” section is red. Some teachers and parents also may use the phrasing a “green” day or a “red” day to indicate “good” and “bad,” respectively. This always means how the child behaved, not how they felt about their day, of course. (Check out this blog I wrote for parents for more on that. )
Unfortunately, it is also not taught with fidelity, through no fault of their own of course, but there is not supposed to be good or bad in any of the Zones, yet any zone but green seems to be seen as a zone children should be in at all times by some people who are implementing it.
High Expectations
And you’ll hear this from me now and more in the future I’m sure…let’s not expect things of children that we can’t do ourselves. I’ve known plenty of adults who have spent time in the red zone (I mean, we all have, right?). I got on my soapbox on this topic in this blog.
If Zones is taught with fidelity and those who use it are trauma-informed it can be a helpful tool for children. Cognitive-based strategies can be really powerful for some children, but they are not the first line of defense when a child is having a hard time. Connection and feelings of safety should always come first.
