It is important to prepare for tests such as ultrasounds, x-rays, MRIs, enemas, etc. by explaining ahead of time what to expect and why. Of course, make it age-appropriate— don’t speak over or under your child’s ability to understand. If there's a recurring theme anywhere in the responses to the questionnaires I receive from the survivors or the health-care professionals, it's to build trust and be honest. If it’s going to hurt or be uncomfortable, tell the truth. It’s not reassuring for a child to be told that a procedure isn’t going to hurt and then find out otherwise. Instead, play up the positives: how quick it will be over what fun thing you’ll do when you’re done how the test will help the doctor make decisions—let your child know how important the test really is To prepare for the more extensive, painful procedures such as surgery, let your child know it will hurt a little at first, but he’ll feel better each day afterwards—until they’re all the way back to normal. Anesthetic Patches Read about this tool for easing pain from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." "No legacy is so rich as honesty." —William Shakespeare Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it. "Lying makes a problem part of the future; truth makes a problem part of the past." —Rick Pitino