BERLIN: By the end of 2022, more than 20 children had died taking part in the viral TikTok challenge in the space of a year and a half, according to one report.
Four years later and amid widespread debate on introducing social media bans for children, deaths are still being reported after children take part in the so-called "blackout challenge."
Videos explaining or demonstrating the challenge continue to circulate on social media platforms, prompting children to take part in what is sometimes also called the "choking game".
Children are led to believe they can choke or strangle themselves or each other in the hope of feeling a brief high or lightheadedness as they pass out, health experts explain.
Parents who discover their child has tried to choke themselves as part of the challenge should resist the urge to panic and lash out, says a parenting and family counsellor.
Kira Liebmann says the impulse to react with anger – especially if a child had allowed themselves to be choked to the point of unconsciousness – was understandable, but she advises against it.
"Instead, parents should try not to react in a completely panicked way and keep calm," Liebmann says.
She said it was then important to find out exactly what had happened: whether the child had taken part in the challenge themselves, had "only" been present, or had simply heard about it.
Collect your thoughts, then talk
In cases where a child had allowed themselves to be choked – as a kind of dare – parents should not immediately start scolding them.
"It is important to collect yourself first and then have the conversation once the initial emotions have settled a little," the parenting counsellor advises.
Parents should then calmly ask why it happened: Was it peer pressure? Was it the child's own idea? Did the idea come from a viral social media post? "Then you can decide whether to also involve the class teacher or school psychologist," Liebmann says.
If a child had heard about an incident or witnessed others taking part in the challenge, parents should also first stay calm, collect their thoughts and only then speak to the child.
She says this could be communicated directly: "I need to process this myself first. Let's talk about it in 15 minutes."
It would then be important to find out who else was involved, whether other parents need to be contacted, exactly what had happened, whether a child had lost consciousness and for how long.
"If the challenge took place near water, parents should make clear how dangerous this is – and that the whole challenge is, in any case, playing with life and death," Liebmann says.
Stay on the topic, but don't nag
In her view, parents could use the conversation to express their worries and concerns, but ultimately could only appeal to their child's reason and highlight the risks and consequences.
Sometimes it also helps to bring in a paediatrician, who could explain the dangers in a different way, she adds.
Even after the initial conversation, it's important to keep the topic alive and build a foundation of trust. "That's the be-all and end-all in any crisis," the counsellor says.
"You shouldn't bring up the subject with the child or teenager every single day, but you should check in every now and then to ask whether they have heard of any further cases," Liebmann advises. – dpa
