Deadly Choking Games
CAUTION: This post is R-rated!
Yesterday, a mother found her 12 year old daughter dead in her closet. That brings to SIX, the known cases of deaths so far in 2008 of teens and preteens because of “The Choking Game”. Also, known as “Pass Out Game”, “Fainting Game”, “Black Out” and several other names, this deadly behavior is a potentially fatal game that children are playing!
In studies, it was discovered that 75% of the kids 9 -16 years old knew about the game, or had played it themselves. Yet, only 25% of parents knew about the game, and that was usually because their children were victims.
What is the Choking Game and who and why are the kids playing it?
While many adults have known about “autoerotic asphyxia” for years, no one realized that kids were playing their own version. Autoerotic asphyxia is the situation whereby adults attempt to reduce air to the body, usually by strangulation, to increase the intensity of orgasm. The trick is to achieve the desired results without dying or causing permanent brain damage. This is definitely considered deviant sexual behavior and is extremely dangerous. Every year, a number of adults die, or are left in a vegetative state, because of this abnormal behavior.
While most adults aren’t aware of it, children are learning about the choking game from their peers at school, at camp, and everywhere kids congregate. Youngsters are bragging about it on the internet. The information is spreading like wildfire among our children. It transcends all social and economic barriers, so rich kids and poor kids and all those in between are learning about it.
Because it produces a high, or buzz, due to decreased oxygen to the brain, it is a cheap thrill that kids are eagerly sharing with each other. Unfortunately, most of them don’t realize how deadly it is. Many of the children who are playing this ‘game’ do so with a fellow student. The majority of deaths (106 in 2007 alone) are kids who attempt to get the high alone, like the 12 year old girl who was discovered by her mother just yesterday. 87% of the reported deaths are teen & preteen males, but children as young as 6 years old have been reported to participate!
No one knows for certain if the number of teen males who die through this behavior were suicidal or not, but the number of young children dying from it leads researchers to believe most of the deaths are accidental because the children did not know what the real risks are.
Because the practice is spreading rapidly, and the death rate is increasing, parents and grandparents need to become informed and talk to their kids! Most of these kids already know about it, but they don’t understand the dangers. They’ve been told by their friends that it’s fun, or a thrill, but have no awareness of the potential side effects.
Check these links. Become informed. Inform other parents. And TALK TO YOUR KIDS BEFORE IT’s TOO LATE!!!
Dangerous Behaviors in Adolescents
Deadly Games Children Play (Home of GASP)
I’m sorry if I seem like an alarmist, I’m not. The little girl who died yesterday lived only a few miles from me. I am HORRIFIED!
Don’t delay! The child you save may be your own!
Brennan
