The Choking Game

[AmyontheFarm]

The local news is asking parents to talk to their kids about "the choking game". I have to put this question out there, "What if I talk to my younger kids (ages 9 and 12) and it gives them the idea to try this?" My 17 year old didn't know what this was, so I explained it to her, she was horrified that anyone would ever think this was a good idea.

 

I will most likely bring up the topic, but I'll have to think through it carefully, because I know they will ask questions. My biggest concern is my son (12) who is starting to develop a taste for "thrills" (zip lines, motorcycles, etc) which are out of his reach, but this game would be something he could do.

 

Here's the link to a website that a family friend has built for the family that explains what "The choking game" is.

http://www.rememberaja.org/index.php

[Jean in Newcastle]

For me, it would depend on the child and their potential exposure to the "game".

[raceNzanesmom]

We've talked about with our 8 y/o, but in a more general way. ie, never take anything, breathe anything, put anything around your neck, etc. We had a local 10 y/o die and it's believed she might have been imitating siblings doing this game. :(

[MistyMountain]

My cousin lost his son to this. I would be worried bringing it up would give them ideas. I have had to have talks with my son about putting things around his neck and why you can't since he has done it before.

[Bug's Mom]

Ugh. Our former neighbors lost their son to this last month.

[higginszoo]

I had a classmate who was resuscitated after this when we were in middle school (30 years ago). As far as I know, he's still alive, but his mental capacity is much diminished. It's more common in that age group, waiting to discuss when they get older could well be too late.

[Guest inoubliable]

If I may be so blunt, I think it's important to have the talk and put in as much description as you can. You need your child to understand that *this way* and *that way* and *this way, too* could lead to death and/or brain damage. I think I'd be more worried that my kid would encounter it and have a friend talk them into a *new way* that we hadn't discussed and that my kid wouldn't understand that *any way* leads to awful consequences. I don't think I'd sugarcoat the death and brain damage part, either.

[NotSoObvious]

Omg! I can't believe how common this is. I remember hearing about this years ago.

 

I thought the cinnamon eating was the new thrill.

[VeritasMama]

This is nothing new. In 5th grade I went to a slumber party and my friends older brother was teaching everyone how to play this. It scared me.

 

I make sure my kids know that you should never, ever put anything around your neck, choke yourself or let anyone else cut off your air supply, and I let them know it can cause brain damage and/or kill you. I tell them that if they see other kids doing this for fun, they should tell them it is dangerous and that they should stop and then get an adult.

[Lisbeth]

Wow. Just another argument for the importance of kids learning from their parents and others who are older (adults) instead of learning from peers. I believe it's fine to have friends, but I think the need for tons of "peer" based learning is just counterintuitive, and a recent experiment in human history. Which is why I do the "are you kidding me?" blink when I get the socialization questions from non-homeschoolers.

[Punks in Ontario]

I saw this this morning. I don't have any wisdom to share, but I'm struggling with how much information to give my guys. The teens I've been blunt with. The youngers I'm not sure how to approach it without stimulating too much curiosity. It's way too common.

 

I'm also struggling with the chemical deaths that recently happened in London area. My guys love to play with stuff like that. They's been given warnings about some chemicals, but I'm concerned that they aren't cautious enough.

[Unicorn.]

Well, would you rather explain to your child that is causes death and brain damage, and scare him away from the idea, or would you rather let a friend tell him about it later. About how cool and fun and exciting it is. Me, I would much rather my child hear of the death and destruction of brain cells, so when the friends want him to play- he can say, "Yeah, no. Not worth it."

[Guest submarines]

For those who are saying that discussing it might give their kids ideas to try it. Do you think particular personalities are more susceptible? Peer pressure? Do you think that *you* would have been tempted to try it when you were a child?

 

It honestly didn't occur to me that if I were to tell my kids about the dangers of such a game, that they would would to try it, so this seems odd to me. But I admit this might be because I'm thinking of myself here.

 

My kids do have ropes around, as my older two are into macrame, and of course they end up playing "doggy" games with the youngest. So I've told them countless times, "not around your neck." They use them around their waists.

 

I had no idea that choking games were so common.

[Susan in TN]

My cousin lost his son to this. I would be worried bringing it up would give them ideas. I have had to have talks with my son about putting things around his neck and why you can't since he has done it before.

 

It had never occurred to me that I should talk to my kids about putting things around their necks until I caught them (years ago) playing a jumping game on the stairs with a jump-rope tied one end around the railing and one end around their necks. I don't believe they had ever been exposed to this idea from another source but they managed to come up with it on their own. The memory of it (and what could have happened) makes me nauseous.

[fairfarmhand]

MY dh's cousin just lost her 16 yo son to a choking game gone horribly wrong a few weeks ago.

 

I have addressed it with my oldest. MAybe I need to bring it up with my 2nd dd.

 

My dh had NEVER heard of such a thing, but I remember hearing about it when I was in high school.,

[stripe]

I never heard about this as a kid, but I do remember a teacher giving us a long talk about not smelling chemicals. I would try to discuss a range of dangerous behavior, of which choking is one example, so as to lessen the "cool new idea" vibe.

[Sandsam]

My daughter (now 14) lost a school friend to the choking game last year. The girl had been hanging herself in her closet - her dad had been hearing 'thunks' upstairs but thought nothing of it. When he called her for dinner, she didn't come. He found her. She died 2 days later in the hospital.

 

I had never heard of it until then. My dd shared with me that school kids helped each other at this game in the school bathrooms. It's sad. It's definitely necessary to talk to kids about the seriousness of this.