Do You Know The Choking Game?
I knew about the choking game because I'd seen it on TV- probably one of those crime dramas, but I'm not sure which one. I thought it was just part of some exaggerated Hollywood plot twist. Then, two days ago I got a call from a friend, let's call her Amy*. Amy has an eleven year-old daughter who plays volleyball at school. I should note, Amy lives in a very small town. This fact is only relevant in that the one school in her town goes from kindergarten to twelfth grades, so Amy's daughter plays volleyball with the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.
On Wednesday morning, Amy received a call from a parent who has a child on the sixth grade volleyball team. The parent informed Amy that several of the seventh and eighth grade girls had confessed to playing the choking game after one of the seventh grade girls started vomiting in the middle of the volleyball game Tuesday night. It seems that a group of eighth grade girls had been choking each other in the locker room at an away game over the weekend and started teaching some of the seventh grade girls how to do it too. Then, some of the same girls met at one of the seventh graders houses before the game on Tuesday and played the choking game again. The girls later reported that the seventh grade who threw up during the volleyball game had played the choking game for the first time that night and had loss consciousness for about two minutes. When the other seventh graders saw her sick and throwing up at the volleyball game that night, they got scared and confessed. The girl was taken to the emergency room and released.
Upon hearing this terrifying story, I started doing some research about the choking game. Here's what I've learned: First, the choking game is not the same thing as erotic asphyxiation (which is oxygen deprivation for the purpose of sexual arousal). Second, though it has been around for about twenty years, the choking game in on the rise in the United States and across Europe. It is common among highly successful and intelligent adolescents who believe it to be a safe way to get high without the risk of getting caught with drugs and alcohol. And while there are reports, including deaths, among children ages six to nineteen from this "game," it is most commonly practiced by twelve to fourteen year olds.
The kids usually begin doing it as a group activity but then advance to doing it alone to get high more frequently. Children who play the choking game alone are taking even greater risks because they must use some form of bondage in order to choke themselves. As their bodies are deprived of oxygen and they become unconscious, their body weight pulls them forward and they are asphyxiated by the bondage. If these children are not discovered and freed from their bonds, they die from suffocation. Across the U. S., thirty one states have confirmed deaths of children ages six to nineteen from the choking game (CDC statistics, 2009). Most of the parents who have lost children from this deadly game had no idea what it was until their child died because of it. And, the Center for Disease Control reports that more children die accidentally from the choking game than die from suicide by hanging annually.
These are some of the warning signs that someone you know may be playing the choking game: bloodshot eyes, discussion or advanced knowledge of the game, marks on the neck, wearing high-necked shirts even in warm weather, disorientation after spending time alone, petechiae (pinpoint bleeding spots) under the skin of the face, especially the eyelids or under the eyes. Also, you may notice ropes, scarves, and belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor.
As with most threats to our children, the most important thing we can do is educate ourselves about the growing practice of the choking game. And whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, friend or older sibling, talk to the kids around you. Ask questions. Do they know about the choking game? Do they know of anyone who's played it? Do they understand how deadly it can be? Kids are doing this because they think it's safe and they won't get caught. We need to make sure our kids understand that this game is just as deadly and addictive as drugs and alcohol.
For further information and more statistics about the choking game please visits these links: http://www.stop-the-choking-game.com/en/home.html , http://www.cdc.gov/features/chokinggame/ , http://chokinggame.net/
Posted by Cynthia Bateman at 3/5/2010 2:03 PM 
Categories: What's On Your Mind,Education,Life
Tags: teens education life health parenting choking game
Categories: What's On Your Mind,Education,Life
Tags: teens education life health parenting choking game
I have also done some research and have come to realize that not all kids who died from the "choking game" have been reported because the deaths were ruled as suicides. I don't think they realize that if they are in a group and someone actually dies, they may be charged with accessory to murder!! Some people in administrative rolls feel we shouldn't give the kids any ideas....but isn't that what we thought about sex and drugs??? Our kids need to be educated....education is our best weapon against things like this!!
Reply to this
People in authority who think that we shouldn't "give kids any ideas' seem to forget that kids find out about these things regardless. Kids aren't stupid, they find out about things. But they need education about stuff like this (or drugs, or anything, really) because when they do find out about things, it is important they know the danger of what they are doing.
Reply to this
Hi Cynthia, thanks for an informative article. I am including it in the healthy blog carnival at: http://www.BestBlogReview.com Everyone needs to read this. Thanks, Deb
Reply to this