Choking Game Has Parents on Alert
By YVONNE NAVA
Updated 11:15 AM EST, Tue, Oct 27, 2009
Whether teens call it "blackout", "passout" or "space monkey", it's a potentially deadly game where participants choke another person until they fall unconscious.
And it apparently has happened at West Hartford's Conard High School. School officials sent a warning home to parents after a video surfaced, showing students playing the game.
“I think it's stupid, personally, like there's no need for it in this school,” freshman Al Wiggins said.
A Conard High student appears on cell phone video with others watched him try to choke himself, in pursuit of a high that could have killed him.
Wiggins’ mother, Nicolle, said parents need to be aware of who their children are spending time with, watch for strange activities and look for signs that something is amiss.
“They shouldn't be walking around with a bunch of gear on in the house in the first place - a turtleneck and a belt is for wearing. It shouldn't be hanging in special loops around the post and weird ropes, just know what your kids are doing,” the West Hartford mother said.
“I am afraid that if we do not alert our children to the risk that this entails, it will continue, and could result in tragedy,” Principal Thomas Moore wrote in a letter to parents.
“Hopefully the school can address it. I mean, I don't know what else they could do,” said parent, Eva Weglewski, who was shocked by the news. She said she's grateful her 14-year-old daughter was shocked too.
Some of the other schools in West Hartford adapted the principal’s letter this choking game could kill you.
First Published: Oct 27, 2009 7:05 AM EST
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