The Crazy Rants of Samantha BurnsThe Deadly Choking Game
After reading an article from ABC News about a child who was found dead after playing a twisted game where you choke yourself or others choke you until you pass out, I was reminded of an incident a couple of years ago.
I was assisting a teacher in a classroom at the time when we were called to an impromptu staff meeting. The principal discussed with us a game that kids were playing in neighbouring schools called the Choking Game. The principal described the game as one where kids hold their hands around another kid's throat and chokes them until s/he passes out. Apparently, when the kids wake up from being choked, they lose all memory for a brief period and gain a tingly feeling throughout their bodies.
Of course, knowing our students, we figured this was just happening at other schools and that we wouldn't have to worry about the situation at our school. WRONG! Kids experiment. We talked to our class and asked if they had any knowledge of this game, and after a little coaxing, many hands began to raise. Most of the students knew of the game, none admitted to trying it, and a few told us of other students in the school who had tried it. From this conversation, I remembered incidents in high schools where the kids were using the wrap-around towel dispensers in the bathrooms to tie around their necks and then let their knees buckle under them to create pressure on their necks. If they were lucky, a friend would be there to untie them before they died. I believe, or at least I am hoping, that schools have done away with these towel dispensers in schools as they can be used as a very lethal toy. Nevertheless, we sent out the word to other teachers immediately to have a serious discussion with their students about the realities of playing this deadly game.
Asphyxiation is the loss of consciousness that the kids get when they play this game due to the hinderance of oxygen and the excess of carbon dioxide in the blood. The reason this game is so dangerous is because asphyxiation can cause heart failure, brain damage, and obviously also death.
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What others are saying:
Comments
I have seen this lead to convulsions and grand maul. I wouldn't recommend it.
Posted by: mice | August 4, 2005 12:49 PM
We did similar things when I was in school. We would hyperventilate, hold our breath, and have someone press against our rib cage really hard, and then pass out for a few seconds. We would come to feeling totally buzzed. I didn't really like it, but I did it to fit in.
Posted by: Craig A Sheffield | August 19, 2005 12:46 AM
Our 16 yr. old son died this way, 10 months ago. His 11 year old brother found him - his 15 year old brother cut him down. I gave him CPR. He was gone. Parents need to be aware of this deadly game. It's real - and it's really killing. They think nothing will hurt them. And from the families I've met who have also gone through this, it's getting the "good kids" who'd probably never do drugs, or are not rebellious. It's a "free" high. I hope sharing about our son, will save other kids from trying this.
http://matthewsstory.com
Posted by: Loni | September 26, 2005 10:26 PM
Thank you for sharing your story and your link. I hope our youngsters will get the message about the hazard of such a deadly "game".
Posted by: Sam | September 27, 2005 01:02 AM
Crap! Another thing to watch out for as my kids grow up! Thanks for pointing it out.
Posted by: drogidy | October 3, 2005 11:11 PM