Timbi Colors Science

Timbi Colors was written to give children, their caregivers, and counselors/teachers a more playful way to reinforce the topics, coping skills, and methods introduced in Timbi Talks About Addiction. Some of these will be new to the child and will be more easily assimilated if multiple sources and senses are engaged.1

Chief among these topics is the concept of neuroplasticity: the brain is more capable of change than formerly believed.  This concept is frequently described with the expression “what fires together, wires together”, meaning the encouragement of positive thoughts forges stronger pathways to positivity.2,3 The converse is also true; dwelling on negative thoughts and situations strengthens those pathways. Therefore, the goal is to introduce as much positivity into the lives and minds of these children as possible.

​In Timbi Colors, we share the evidence-based ‘positive-thinking’ practices of visualization, gratitude, experiencing nature, and even smiling and playing!  These are explained more fully below. Once learned, these practices become part of the child’s toolkit for managing stress and difficult feelings. 

And finally, some pages are more for fun — a break from the learning that helps make the book feel less like a 'workbook' and more like a 'funbook.' But as noted in the next section, they still add value.

The following is a brief page by page overview: 

• First Spread, pages 2-3: Reintroduce Timbi and reinforce the four core facts adapted from NACoA.4 Attempt to engage the child actively in the material by identifying four ways Timbi stays healthy in the rest of the book.

• 2nd Spread, pp 4-5: Timbi hugs his Teddy and he feels better. Hugging encourages positive thoughts and activates beneficial neurochemicals.5 On page 5, children are encouraged to think about something that helps them feel better with the goal of facilitating positive thoughts. A comfort object like Teddy also gives young children a reliable source of security as they face new or stressful moments.6 Children who use a transitional object during everyday separations from a caregiver tend to settle and self-soothe more easily.7

• 3rd Spread, pp 6-7: Reinforcing the child has trusted adults and people who love them.

• 4th Spread, pp 8-9: Timbi misses Daddy and feels sad, but visualizes a happy place.8 The active, multi-sensory approach of thinking about, and describing, a “happy place” allows for a richer, more realistic experience of getting away to that place. Guided imagery like this is a well-established relaxation technique, and research shows it can support children’s emotional wellbeing, focus, and coping skills more broadly.9

• 5th Spread, pp 10-11: When Timbi feels bad, Timbi remembers to be thankful. Gratitude is another positive emotion that has been studied and shown to improve well-being.10

• 6th Spread, pp 12-13: Timbi knows people who have a parent who is struggling with addiction which helps Timbi feel less alone and stigmatized.11

• 7th Spread, pp 14-15: Timbi and Sami are playing together and supporting each other, accessing the special neural circuitry for play that enhances self-regulation and aids healing.12

• 8th Spread, pp 16-17: Something’s not right. This is one of the key learnings from Timbi Talks. Children are quite sensitive and pick up on signals of tension and stress very well. They also tend not to have a vocabulary that permits them to express their feelings effectively.  As a result, they tend to manifest their strong emotions in their body, largely unrecognized.13,14,15 Teaching them to “listen” when their body has something to say (that is, when the body is holding on to emotions/stress) is crucial to allowing them to release them.  The drawing of Timbi has some suggestions of how the body might “speak” to someone and encourages the child to circle the symptoms that feel right to them.

• 9th Spread, pp 18-19: Timbi invites the child to take some deep breaths. 16 The next page explores the physical feeling of breathing to enable the child to connect to and stay focused on the breath. This focus prolongs the child’s attention, giving the parasympathetic nervous system more time to settle the body.

• 10th Spread, pp 20-21: Timbi is on the swing out in nature. Being out in nature has cognitive and physiological benefits.17 The child is then invited to reflect on and draw or write about their favorite outdoor activity.

• 11th Spread, pp 22-23: Timbi talks to the teacher. This is another key message. The child has access to and can avail themselves of safe adults who reassure them.18 The child is invited to think about and draw their safe adult.

• 12th Spread, pp 24-25: This spread is showing that drawing or coloring generally can be relaxing and therapeutic.19

• 13th Spread, pp 26-67: Studies have shown that smiling actually makes people happier. The facial muscles send a signal to the brain.20 And smiling is contagious! Smile at someone and chances are very good they will smile back, and everyone feels happier.

• 14th Spread, pp 28-29: Page 28 is more coloring, and page 29 invites a smile-inducing drawing, again, reinforcing positivity in the brain.

• 15th Spread, pp 30-31: These are coloring pages that encourage children to read. Reading or being read to develops vocabulary and word fluency which lead to greater success at school21 and the significant advantages that brings.

• 16th Spread, pp 32-33: We see Timbi’s friend Maddie tidying up toys. On the surface it’s cleaning up — but it’s really about cooperation and reciprocity. Helping and being helped are both valued here, and when children practice that balance, they strengthen trust and learn the skills that make relationships healthy and lasting.22

• 17th Spread, pp 34-35: This spread reinforces the key message of goodness, love and resilience.

• 18th Spread, pp 36-37: Recap of learnings and practices outlined in the book. The inside back cover has a handy list of activities Timbi uses to feel better that can be displayed as a reminder.  

We thank you for sharing Timbi with a child who is impacted by a loved one’s substance abuse.  It is our great hope that the concepts and activities shared in the Timbi books will offer children a means to find hope and happiness, both with the help of safe people, and by themselves. 

Janet Hellier, MS MHC

1 Multi-sensory learning (2024; see Abstract): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10494820.2024.2427277

2 Neuroplasticity overview (Simply Psychology): https://www.simplypsychology.org/brain-plasticity.html

3 Neuroplasticity, written for & reviewed by kids (Frontiers for Young Minds, 2020): https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2020.522413

4 NACoA’s Tools for Kids (direct link to the PDF, “four core facts”): https://nacoa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Tools_for_Kids.pdf

5 Hugging: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497621000655

6 Transitional objects & infant-toddler wellbeing (2025 book chapter): https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-89376-6_4

7 Transitional objects during daily separations (1993 study): https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8451155/

8 Guided imagery & relaxation for elementary schoolers (2025 RCT; see Abstract): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12131549/

9 Visualization (2022, Nature Scientific Reports; see Abstract): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8770773/

10 Gratitude (2023, protective factor for young children; see Abst): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-023-01623-3

11 Children of alcoholics & the value of peer support (prevention/intervention review): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6826802/

12 Playing (2025 neurobiology-of-play review; see Abstract): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12816299/

13 Trauma in the body: https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Physical_Symptoms_of_Emotional_Distress-Somatic_Symptoms_and_Related_Disorders-124.aspx

14 Trauma & Executive Function (2026 umbrella review; see Abstract): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763426002757

15 Pathways from Parental Substance Misuse to Child Trauma (2026; see Abstract): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740925006073

16 Benefit of Deep Breaths (children 6–18; see Abstract): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11763547/

17 Being in Nature (2025 review; see Abstract): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272494425002713

18 Connectedness & Positive Childhood Experiences (2026; see Abstract): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740926000228

19 Coloring & academic stress reduction in adolescents (2025 study; see Abstract): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12024132/

20 Smiling (2022, multi-lab study, ~3,900 participants; see Abstract): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-022-01458-9

21 Reading Aloud & Vocabulary Development (2024 RCT; see Abstract): https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2023.2283475

22 Peer Trust & Prosocial Behavior in Young Children (2022 study; see Abstract): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00221325.2022.2030293

 

 

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www.timbitalks.org