This video explains that self-regulation skills are pertinent to the lives of successful people. These skills allow them to shift and maintain attention when necessary. They also allow people to control their thoughts and emotions (i.e. coming to a relaxed state after your car has broken down, in lieu of screaming out). Self regulation skills require executive functioning. This includes flexible attention, working memory, inhibitory control and, most importantly, managing emotions. These skills are not innate, we are taught these skills through experiences and from peers and adults. When students are upset or angry, children are unable to access their executive functioning skills. This makes it difficult for students to listen in the classroom and follow rules which inhibits their learning. Self-regulation allows students to recognize their strong feelings and calm down. Students with self-regulation skills have higher academic achievement, act out less and are able to manage their emotions.
Emotional self-regulation is the ability to manage and monitor our own behaviors. With our self-regulation skills, we can calm ourselves down and pick ourselves up when needed. Self-regulation is part of our development like walking, talking and reading. When a child is able to manage their stressors and emotions, they are able to access their academics. This inability to manage emotions is prominent in students who struggle with anxiety, ADHD and Autism. Often times teachers feel that a child lacking skills in self-regulation requires a disciplinary model. It is important to support these children with empathy and skill building to allow them to be more adaptive and functional.
The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum which was designed for elementary aged children as a way to teach them self-regulation and self-control. The program categorizes the complex feelings and states that students experience and enables them to be able to recognize and communicate their feelings. It is designed to be a safe and non-judgmental way for students to express themselves. It is divided into four levels, or zones. The Green Zone is used to represent a regulated state of alertness. These are feelings of being calm, happy, focused or content. This is the desired zone for a student to be able to complete their school work and for social interactions. The Green Zone represents when the child has the most control. The Blue Zone describes low states of alertness. This is feeling sad, sick, tired or bored. This is when someone feels sluggish or that their brain is moving slowly. The Green Zone is used to represent a regulated state of alertness. These are feelings of being calm, happy, focused or content. This is the desired zone for a student to be able to complete their school work and for social interactions. The Green Zone represents when the child has the most control. The Yellow Zone describes a heightened state of alertness, but the child still is able to have some self-control. This is feelings of stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness or confusion. The Yellow Zone is when students begin to lose some control. The Red Zone describes a heightened state of alertness or intense feelings. A person in this state will experience anger, rage, explosive behavior, panic or terror. Students in the Red Zone will often begin to display maladaptive behaviors and loss of control of one’s body. This program uses visual aids to allow students to recognize which zone they are in. students are provided with appropriate self-care strategies to assist them in getting back to baseline or, the Green Zone.
Self-regulation skills are necessary for a reliable emotional well being. Self-regulation is the ability to act in your long-term best interests. This also includes being consistent with your deepest values (not violating your values of guilt, shame, and anxiety). Emotionally, this is being able to calm yourself down when you’re upset or cheering yourself up when you’re down. Emotions motivate our behaviors. They cause us to approach something, avoid, or attack which is typically displayed as anger, bullying or abusing. Feelings which can be depressions, sensations (cold, pleasure, pain), and physiological states like hunger. Feelings cause us to focus attention somewhere and we act out depending on the emotion that presents. When we act out on our emotions, we are often unaware that we are having a specific feeling. It is important to become aware of our feelings so that we can reflect and determine the best way to react. This observation of our emotions allows us to be able to self-regulate ourselves.