From the AP:
At least 82 youths have died from the so-called "choking game," according to the first government count of fatalities from the tragic fad.In the game, children use dog leashes, bungee cords wrapped around their necks or other means to temporarily cut blood flow to their head. The goal is a dreamlike, floating-in-space feeling when blood rushes back into the brain.
As many as 20 percent of teens and preteens play the game, sometimes in groups, according to some estimates based on a few local studies. But nearly all the deaths were youths who played alone, according to the count complied by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
...The 82 deaths were spread across the country. Nearly 90 percent were boys, at an average age of about 13, the CDC found.
So disturbing.
Posted by anastasia
Tweens
Comments
Reminds me of that scene with Hayden C in "Life as a House" with Kevin Kline. Except he was sniffing too.
Do you think it's a "bored" kid mentality, a curious kid, or a troubled kid that searches for such an altered state by near-death means?
Posted by: Izzy Neis | February 14, 2008 10:19 AM
Hey Izzy. I have no idea. Maybe a bit of all three? Definitely something all parents should be talking to their sons about...
Posted by: anastasia | February 15, 2008 9:25 AM
I just heard about this a couple of years ago. An author of mine (I edit a teen magazine) brought it to my attention and wrote a fictionalized account based on some stories she'd read. Very scary. But then I just heard of a family whose son died by suicide with the kind of evidence that could possibly be this choking game. I passed on the information to give some comfort to the parents who are wondering why their teen son would commit suicide; maybe it was accidental.
Posted by: Kelly | February 23, 2008 10:26 AM