Are we raising a generation of Calpol kids?

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Are we raising a generation of Calpol kids?

I watched this eye-opening documentary on TV where Doctor Chris Van Tulleken discovers the truth behind the drugs we are giving our children.

Parents the world over have been known to give their children Calpol when they’re feeling under the weather. Whether it’s a high temperature, a tummy ache or teething, there’s a particular brand of pink liquid paracetamol that British parents are buying – it seems literally by the bucketload.

It appears that we are raising a generation of Calpol Kids.

In this fascinating & thought provoking documentary, The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs, Doctor Chris van Tulleken shed some light on the sweet pink stuff that kids just love.

Two years ago, Chris discovered we are taking more prescription drugs than ever (a whopping billion a year in the UK), so he worked with patients to try drug-free alternatives.

Now Chris, who has just become a father himself, wants to do the same for children, having discovered that British kids take three times more medication than 40 years ago.

“All drugs do harm, without exception,” he points out. “We just hope that benefits out weigh the harm.”

This is an eye-opening and thought-provoking documentary that reveals our kids don’t need drugs as often as we think they do, as well as the marketing ploys used to manipulate us.

Elsewhere, Chris also tackles the problem of treating kids’ behavioural problems, such as ADHD, with drugs that have side effects such as loss of hunger and stunted growth.

This is an eye-opening and thought-provoking documentary that reveals our kids don’t need drugs as often as we think they do, as well as the marketing ploys used to manipulate us.

Chris also joins six children with hyperactivity as they trial mindfulness. But will it work well enough for them to ditch the meds?

I found the programme fascinating and thought provoking – do catch it on BBC iPlayer ‘The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs’ on BBC1

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