Show, don’t tell. Or, at least show while you tell. That’s a cardinal rule around here. If you want my kid to do or learn something, show him what you mean. Visually. Write it down. Give him a live demonstration. Show him a picture. Or even better, a video. Honestly, I’d have a hard time parenting this kid without Google Image search and YouTube. And I’m forever grateful to all of the people who post pictures and videos about the most mundane things and make them accessible to the whole world. They’re so darned useful. I’ve used photos or videos to prepare my kid for everything from rollercoasters to EEGs. This past week, he needed to get a blood draw. He’s generally pretty good now about getting that done, after years of trying, but there’s still always a risk that anxiety could capsize the effort. So, before we went, I pulled up a photo on Google of another young man getting his blood drawn at a similar lab.