Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Deadly Summer Games

A deadly game has been growing in popularity across the country. Known as The Choking Game, kids get a quick high by stopping the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain. Yup! You read it right…

How do they play this so-called game? Sometimes they choke each other until one passes out. Or they may use a ligature. The latter method is extremely dangerous because more and more kids are “playing the game” alone. And the effects of the high are addictive.

The Choking Game can cause the permanent death of brain cells. Physicians say, too, that the variation in blood pressure “may also cause strokes, seizures, and retinal damage.”

Others do it because it’s “cool” and risky. Most of the kids who have died from this were not children in trouble. Most were well liked, active, intelligent, stable children who wanted nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. This was an activity they felt was safe. Children have no clue about the physiological principles involved and need to be told by the adults in their lives how dangerous this is.

Why kids are taking such risks with their lives? Think back to your adolescent and teen years. We all wanted to be cool. And, I dare say, most of us engaged in risky behavior. Most of us luckily survived, and without our parents even knowing the crazy things we did. Kids have no sense of their own mortality coupled with a strong sense of invincibility.

So what’s a parent to do? Talk with your kids…talk with your school officials, and talk with other parents. Open communication and education are always the best means.

Oh, and don’t fall into the “not my kid” trap. Ask yourself this question first: What stupid, idiotic activity did I do when I was their age? I bet most of us can up with at least one dumb thing we did. I know I can.

(Written for KidsTerrain)

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for bring this to the attention of all your readers. My son passed away on May 11,2008 due to the choking game that he heard about at school.
    Dawn,Cody's mom

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  2. Hello, my son, Michael, played the game one night with some friends. He passed out, fell backwards and sustained a brain injury sufficient to kill him three days later. I knew nothing of the game, but my daughters told me they'd watched their brother playing it at home.
    This happened 14 years ago in Ontario; back then I tried very hard to spread the warning of the deadly game but got absolutely nowhere. At last the word is getting out. Too bad it's too late for all the kids who died in the last fourteen years.
    Thank you for listening, Anne Phillips

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