Body & Soul with Gail Harris

Having created its own population bulge, 80 million baby boomers are now in full-tilt parenting, confronting age-old issues of child rearing along with a slew of new ones that have brought added complexities to the question of what it takes to raise healthy and happy kids. In this edition of Body & Soul we take a look at what kids and parents are up to these days.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that of the 150 million outpatient prescriptions written for antibiotics every year, about one-third of them aren't needed. A proportion of those prescriptions go towards the treatment of children to fight off a litany of common infections such as flu or common cold. But are they always necessary and is there an alternative?

To find out, Body & Soul talked to a naturopathic physician in Vermont, as well as the director for the Center for Holistic Pediatrician Education and Research at Children's Hospital in Boston. They have more in common than you might think.

Then you'll meet Jon and Myla Kabat-Zinn, the authors of Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting who share with Gail Harris some of their insights into the agonies and ecstasies of modern parenting.

Finally, Body & Soul will take you to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y. for a look at Adventure Game Theater, a mainstay of the holistic education center's Family Week. The creation of Howard Moody and Brian Allison, Adventure Game Theater cloaks important lessons of cooperation, teamwork, and creative problem solving for adolescents in the costumes and storytelling magic of an unusual kind of theater.

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Body & Soul is currently airing Monday-Friday at 7:00pm and 8:30pm on PBS YOU.

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