According to a story over at The Stir, there are twelve “games” teens are “playing” that are dangerous. As I read down the list I was very surprised and I found myself wondering if these were for real. We all know there are lots of urban legends and the internet likes to hype up one time incidents as epidemic. Here are a few of the games listed:
Skittling: This isn’t about the candies, it’s about medicine. This “game” involves teens raiding Mom and Dad’s pills, throwing them all into one pot, and then grabbing a random handful of colorful little capsules, downing them in one incredibly dangerous swallow.
Trunking: Forcing a pal to ride in the trunk of a car may sound reasonable if you’ve watched too many mob movies, but it’s been known to actually kill kids.
Surfing: Riding atop a moving car is something done for generations, and yet kids are still dumb enough to do it, often with disastrous results.
30 Seconds Game: This is where kids fight as hard as they can for half a minute, and the onlookers declare a “winner.” By some definitions, the fighting requires punching someone directly in the face, repeatedly.
Choking Game: Just because it’s the game that gets the most press doesn’t mean kids aren’t still trying to achieve a high by cutting off the oxygen to the brain. This can knock kids unconscious or, much worse, cause brain damage or even death. Exact affects are hard to track, because choking game deaths are simply labeled as suicides. The CDC estimates 800 to 1,000 kids between the ages of 10 to 19 die of strangulation every year, and sadly that includes some kids who just thought they were playing a game. Sometimes tied to a sexual component, wherein kids masturbate at the same time, it’s also called the fainting game, pass-out, good kids high, and choking off, among other names.
For the full list click here. I had heard of skittling and the choking game, but the others just seemed like a few incidents that happened in various places. Are kids really beating each other for fun? Are teens really playing such dangerous games while driving cars?
I don’t have teenagers, but can see how some of these games can impact innocent people who just happen to be in the same area as these games. I worry that if things like this are widespread we’re going to see more injuries and deaths.
What do you think about these games? Are they hyped up or are they significant problems that parents need to be aware of?
