Enduring the death of a child is heartbreaking- Do something!

Help us save the lives of countless children that die every year senselessly: Please join us and sign this petition, send it to your Congress and have the letters hand delivered to them also, I did! Make your voice know this year, an election year I might add.

http://www.petition2congress.com/5809/stop-choking-game/

This is what the petition says:

There is an alarming wave of deaths among our country’s youth; a wave that continues to go unnoticed by mainstream media. Adolescents across the nation are victims of unintentional fatalities caused by their participation in the “choking game” and though known by many names, the intent is to pass out purposely for amusement or for a “buzz”. This silent epidemic that focuses the most brutal results on our very young middle schoolers, remains hidden from public attention because currently there is no way to accurately track and report the number of cases. This lack of statistical proof also limits prevention efforts promoted by the grass-roots organization of the thousands of grieving families who have lost a child to this insidious “game”.

As your constituent, I have signed my name below to ask that you help us help our children by doing the following:

1. Call the CDC and request to be briefed on the issue of the “choking game”.

2. Support the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services by requesting that the World Health Organization add a sub code that includes the “choking game” as a cause of death.

3. Include the “choking game” among the health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth in the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and make the YRBS affordable and accessible for all states.

4. Support the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) model of education as the means to disseminate information regarding the “choking game”.


Enduring the death of a child is heartbreaking. As my representative to Congress, I ask that you help me prevent other families from this heartache by showing your support in establishing statistical evidence of the “choking game,” Your efforts will assist us in heightening awareness among teens and their parents, teachers, and health care providers.

 Add the widget to your website here  http://www.petition2congress.com/5809/stop-choking-game/gwt/ 

So many Angels~~ still so many stupid people~

So many angels lost and yet why do people still not believe that their kids might
actually be involved in such behavior. Today I read a great article on Cafemom  the "12 Terrifying Teen Games your kids are playing". And as I read the comments I realized how numb parents and teens can be to the real dangers that our kids are faced with everyday, not just teens, but younger children are even faced with youth risk behaviors like "the choking game" or "the pass out game". All of these deadly games are real!! These games injure and kill our kids!

Ask the parents of each and every kid that lost their life in the poster above, that is just a very small portion of the number of dead kids, just from the choking game, there are many more....

The comments below will upset many supporters of our site:

Here is one person "Cass" who is clueless: her comment scares me--

quoted:"Cass" Neither I, nor any teen I know, is dumb enough to do any of these (except perhaps the planking, although there's no way any of then would do it in a dangerous way). I would bet good money that half of these were made up simply for the purposes of scaring moms watching the local news. Seriously, people- if your kid is doing anything this stupid, you made some big mistakes. 

quoted: "Anon" Besides the occasional trunking, surfing, and planking, I don't know of any teen doing these. I agree with Cass. It's like that rumor of rainbow parties- once word got out that kids "did" that, the media picked it up and ran with it. But there was never any evidence that it actually happened. I call BS on most of these. Anything involving drug mixing or chugging is really only a few people, who were already into other harder stuff. 

quoted: "Cass"Thank you, Anon. I'm rather sick of being treated as though I have neither a brain nor a sense of self preservation simply because I'm a teenager. Ridiculous stories like these do not help my credibility. 

quoted: "ohmyskittles:  if you think teens are actually playing these games, you are stupid. I agree with Cass and Anon. Teens are not the monsters that you mommy bloggers make them out to be. If you teen ACTUALLY IS playing these games,you should have raised them better. Your fault for being a bad parent. 

These are the people we need to work so hard to educate!
Any parent of a child who has died from any deadly "game" will agree that they were not at fault nor were a "bad parent", most of these parents are exceptional parents, those comments are cruel and uncalled for. 


Wake up people and get smart!  the 33 kids on that poster should be enough to show you that yes people are doing it!! And Dying!!

 

What are the signs??

Information that was shared via John Tesh's Video for your Life website: Thank you for reaching out to parents!

Parents, you may have already talked to your kids about the dangers of alcohol
and Illegal drugs, but there's a danger you may not even know about. It's called the Choking Game, or Space Cowboy, Cloud 9, and Flat-line. lt's where kids deprive their brains of oxygen by briefly strangling themselves with a belt, rope, dog collar, or bungee cord, and get a temporary high when the blood rushes back Into their head. According to ABC News, kids are drawn to the Choking Game because It's cheap, doesn't Involve Illegal drugs, and seems less dangerous. However, It causes
permanent brain damage, and it kills - mostly boys between the ages of 11 and 16.
So, how can you protect your child? Talk to them! Make sure they understand that suffocating themselves to get high can cause permanent brain damage and death. Get them Into other activities -like soccer, hiking, or learning to cook. Studies show that kids who are involved in extracurricular activities are less likely to try to get high.

Also, keep an eye out for red flags like:
Bloodshot eyes, 
marks or bruising around the neck, 
and frequent ,severe headaches, 
pinpoint spots of blood under the skin of the face, especially the eyelids. 
Or in the clearlining of eyelids and eyes.
Also: Unusual demands for privacy, 
disorientation after spending time alone, 
and wearing
high-necked shirts, even In warm weather.
Other red flags include:
Ropes, scarves, t-shirts or belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs, or found knotted on the floor or in unusual places, and the unexplained presence of dog leashes, choke collars, and bungee cords.

If you believe your child's doing something dangerous, seek medical and psychological help Immediately. Your Intervention could literally save their life. You can find a therapist at Therapists.PsychologyToday.com. Alert the parents of your child's friends. If one kid is doing it, there are probably others, and if an older teen is involved, younger kids in the same family may also be at risk.

Anytime your parental sense that something is wrong or different with your child is like a sign that you need to act and investigate what your child might be doing . Don't ever think "Oh I don't want them to get mad at me, who cares if they get mad, let them be mad, at least they will still be alive. Imagine if you found your child dead, hanging from a rope or belt on their bed, you thought something was just not right about them lately, but you did not want to interfere or "make them mad" now they are dead!!! did it really matter?? No, you can't bring them back now!
So be the parent and do something NOW! Talk to them NOW, they are never to young to talk about youth risk behaviors!!