When did your child last give you the black plague? A fecal transplant? Mine did the other night when we played– Gut Check: The Microbiology Game. A fabulous fun, educational, and scientifically correct board game. Here’s a typical conversation: “Mama, I’m going to give you a fungal infection.” “That’s fine – with 4 beneficial microbes in my gut it won’t affect me.” “hmmm – well, if I use the antibiotic tetracycline on you – you’ll lose half of your helpful bacteria – then just wait till the next round! ” Two moves in Gut Check. Four lessons learned by my 6 year old daughter: 1) high bacterial diversity has a protective effect against pathogens, 2) the word “beneficial” means helpful, 3) not all bacteria are pathogens, and 4) antibiotics kill all bacteria – helpful and harmful. WOAH –isn’t that just awesome?!