February Newsletter Spotlight: Supporting Emotional Regulation and Smoother Transitions

Explore Our February Newsletter

Our February Newsletter explores these tools in more detail, providing practical tips, examples, and resources for families, educators, and caregivers supporting children with emotional regulation and transition difficulties.

We encourage you to explore the newsletter and begin incorporating these strategies into everyday routines. Small, consistent changes can have a meaningful impact on how children experience their daily transitions.

Transitioning Challenges

Transitions can be one of the most challenging parts of a child’s day. Moving from play to learning, home to school, or one activity to another can feel overwhelming for children who experience difficulties with emotional regulation, sensory processing, or predictability.

That’s why our February Newsletter focuses on emotional regulation and transitions, offering practical, evidence-based strategies to help children feel more secure, understood, and in control as they move through their daily routines.

Why Emotional Regulation Matters

Emotional regulation is the ability to recognise, understand, and manage emotions in a way that supports everyday functioning. For many children, particularly those with developmental or emotional challenges, this skill is still emerging.

When a child struggles to regulate their emotions, transitions can quickly become moments of distress. A sudden change in activity or environment may lead to frustration, anxiety, meltdowns, or withdrawal. This is not because the child is being “difficult,” but because their nervous system is feeling overwhelmed.

By proactively supporting emotional regulation, we can reduce stress, build resilience, and help children approach transitions with greater confidence.

Using the Zones of Regulation to Build Emotional Awareness

One of the key tools highlighted in our February Newsletter is the Zones of Regulation framework. This widely used approach helps children identify their emotional states by grouping feelings and levels of alertness into four colour-coded zones:

• Blue Zone – low energy or alertness (sad, tired, bored)

• Green Zone – calm, focused, and ready to learn

• Yellow Zone – heightened emotions (anxious, excited, frustrated)

• Red Zone – intense emotions (anger, panic, overwhelm)

By teaching children to recognise which zone they are in, we support the development of emotional awareness and emotional language. These skills are essential foundations for regulation. Importantly, the Zones of Regulation also help children understand that all emotions are valid and that different emotional states require different supports.

When used consistently at home, school, or therapy, this framework empowers children to identify how they are feeling and begin learning strategies to return to a calmer, more regulated state.

Visual Cue Cards: Making Transitions Predictable

Another key strategy featured in our February focus is the use of visual cue cards to support transitions.

Many children process visual information more effectively than verbal instructions alone. Visual cues help reduce uncertainty, clarify expectations, and give children time to mentally and emotionally prepare for what is coming next.

Visual cue cards can be used to:

• Show the sequence of activities within a routine. e.g. "Now, Next, Later."

• Provide advance warning before a transition occurs

• Reinforce “first-then” concepts (e.g. First pack up, then play outside)

• Support understanding during moments of emotional escalation

When paired with emotional regulation tools such as the Zones of Regulation, visual cue cards help children make sense of both what is happening and how they are feeling, making transitions more predictable and manageable.

Supporting Children Through Challenging Moments

Children who experience difficulty with transitions are not failing. Their behaviour is often a form of communication, signaling that they need additional support.

By combining emotional regulation frameworks with visual supports, adults can create environments that feel more structured, predictable, and emotionally safe.

Some of the practical strategies shared in our February Newsletter include:

• Checking in with a child’s emotional zone before a transition

• Offering choices where possible to increase a sense of control

• Using consistent visuals across different environments

• Practicing regulation strategies during calm moments, not only during times of distress

These approaches may not eliminate challenges immediately, but they help build skills over time and support children to navigate transitions with less anxiety and greater success.

If you would like further guidance or personalised support, the YouthOT team is here to help, working alongside families to support children’s emotional wellbeing and participation in everyday activities.