Wednesday, January 18, 2006

The Choking Game

Just when I think I've heard of everything....I was talking with a colleague/ friend of mine today at school, and she shared with me a conversation she had with her kids in class. Evidently, one of the new crazes among teenagers today is the choking game. The object of "the game" is to cut off just enough oxygen to your brain, by choking yourself with a belt or some similar object, so that you get a type of high. As CBS reported last summer ( I guess I missed this one!)...it obviously can be a deadly game.

Oh my God...what in the world are these kids thinking of? It's things like this that really scare me to death as my daughter gets closer and closer to her high school years. As a parent, you try to spend countless hours with your kids to give them a moral compass that they can use to make sound decisions in their young lives...but ultimately, the time comes when you have to let go and hope, and pray, that they "do the right thing".

Having spent 15 years with teenagers on a daily basis, I'm not naive to believe for one second that peer pressure is not an incredible presence in a young person's life. My prayer, not just for my kids but for all the kids whom I work with each day, is that they can see how precious their lives are and to take any unnecessary risks- like playing this game for a few seconds of physical gratification- is not only potentially deadly, but goes against everything that Christ has intended for us...

For anyone interested, here is the link to the news story that CBS ran last summer...
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3 comments:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ said...

We homeschool. We thought we had the protective hedge around our children. We have good communication with them. We go to a great church. Our children of understanding age, have made profession of faith. Our second oldest son thought of going into missions. The summer of 2004, on his own went to our neighbors, to talk to the man who was like a grandfather to him, to share Jesus with him, to make sure Mr. Mike new the Lord. Matthew prayed for Mr. Mike often. He talked of going into the airforce - and then maybe missions in aviation. He wore two Christian rings to show his faith, so at work if someone asked him about Jesus, he could share. He watched a CSI program at 10:00 pm on Friday, Dec. 9, 2004. It was about the "choking game." The next morning at 11 am his two young brothers found him dead, hanging in our downstairs bathroom. He tried the choking game. He lost. Yes, it was a foolish, awful, horrible mistake. Even with the protections we tried to take, our son died. It's been a long, difficult year, but we just made it past the 1 year anniversary. One daughter struggles with taking a shower because she was taking a shower when she heard all the screams. Another child does not like door knobs because she tried to get the locked door open. Another does not like steak knives - he cut Matthew down. We don't like red dog leashes - you can imagine why. Please, talk to your children. YES, talk to your principals and schools. Awareness needs to be brought about. I've talked to kids now - they are doing it in groups, alone, at parties, in school hallways, in classrooms, on the bus, etc. Protect your child. Maybe my son's death can save your child's life.

http://www.matthewsstory.com

In God's Grip,
Loni

January 18, 2006 11:55 PM
Rob Eubank said...

Loni,

Thanks so much for sharing. I simply cannot imagine the sorrow that you and your family have endured with this tragedy. I plan on sharing your story with our counselors/ staff here at school.

-Rob

January 19, 2006 8:42 AM
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ said...

Thank you Rob. You are more than welcome to take anything from Matthew's website and/or our blog. If one life can be spared from this, it helps ease the pain some.

Please write to me privately if you need anything.

lonistel@iserv.net

Thank you. Loni

January 21, 2006 2:54 AM

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