Build trust
Stay current
videos o them partaking in the Australia fell from a highTide Pod Challenge, which rise balcony planking. involves biting into a pod of The Kylie Lip Challenge laundry detergent. encouraged children to The detergent can very suck a shot glass over their quickly cause chemical burns mouths to make their lips and kidney and lung problems. swell artificially, in an Likewise, a teen in Indiana attempt to replicate reality star Kylie Jenner’s fake lips. made headlines after his friends poured boiling water Whilst bruising and scarring may seem the only on him as part of the Hot Water Challenge, giving him consequence, doctors second-degree burns on his worried that partaking in the head, face and chest. challenge could worsen body But the most frightening of image issues and self-esteem. them all is nicknamed The Some eating challenges can Blue Whale Game. be harmful – the Cinnamon Rumoured to have begun in Challenge involves swallowing Russia, an anonymous cinnamon – which ‘administrator’ assigns often makes you Under 14 self-harm tasks, like cough and s cutting, until the choke – and a r e s p ending 50th day, when the the Hot o n participant is Pepper average supposed to Challenge 23 hours commit suicide. involves a w e e k Since the ‘game’ eating a hot on their has arrived in the ghost pepper. phones UK, schoolchildren Though most as young as seven people survive years-old have heard about unscathed, there have the infamous Blue Whale. been reports of kids ending up Many children across the unwell in hospital. globe have been caught One of the most well-known photographing themselves on challenges of time was the Ice rooftops and cutting their skin Bucket Challenge, where into the shape of a whale. people filmed themselves As the sick trend has spread, having a huge bucket of ice Instagram has now rolled-out ater poured over them to a warning to anyone who wareness of Motor searches the tag. ne Disease. The suicide challenge has st parents can lightalready been linked to some ly laugh and nag about 130 deaths in Russia, and f the challenges above, earlier this year, the parents of unts aren’t so safe… a 16-year old in Georgia, USA, year, a 22-year-old died blamed the Blue Whale Game nvincing his girlfriend for the death of their daughter. t him for a failed And Russian university be stunt. student Oleg Kapaev was t high or faint, kids saved by his parents when en found choking their planning to throw himself to complete the Passfrom a building to complete allenge. the ninth challenge. ren as young as five Oleg Kapaev told Sky News; d have also posted
‘I didn’t feel like I needed to kill myself. I felt I needed to complete the task.’ This chase to complete a challenge is fuelling the drive of many susceptible and vulnerable children. We all know what it’s like growing up and wanting to fit in with friends. Children are easily manipulated by immense peer pressure from peers and social media online. How can we protect them from actually harming or
killing themselves? Jen explains: ‘In today’s world, it’s vital that parents are not only fully aware of what’s going on in social media trends, but also have conversations with their children regularly.’ ‘We want our children to be aware that things aren’t always ‘real’ on the internet, and to help them be fully clued up and aware before they make their own choices,’ Jen says. As Jen stresses, open conversations and awareness are essential to tackling the wider problem. Due to the nature of viral challenges, the likelihood is that they’ll never go away. Whilst we can’t stop our children from joining in on the latest, irresistible fad, we can make them aware of the boundary between a fun, harmless risk and an inappropriate, dangerous one.
If you’re worried about a child and need advice or information, call the NSPCC helplin 00.
EXPERT ADVIC athy Hassell runs www. teencalm.com – a box for anxious teens and tweens. We asked her how parents can navigate the often-explicable world of viral challenges… ‘The ‘dare’ between children has been around for years,’ Cathy explains. ‘But some of the new wave of viral challenges can be hazardous to your child’s physical and mental health. Teens and tweens who have grown up on YouTube are susceptible to peer pressure, and unfortunately self-harm is likely to be a subject not unfamiliar to them.’ Follow Cathy’s advice to help protect your children…
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important to many children. 4. Gain trust Show you understand the allure of challenges, but try to get a promise that they will take to you about anything dangerous before doing it. 5. Keep in the know Show interest in their friends and find out what they think about the latest challenge – it might help you gauge interest better than talking to 1. Be there for your child your own child. Be available and non6. Mental health matters judgemental. Listen to them. Try to introduce mindfulness 2. Stay up to date with teen into your children’s lives and trends be aware of how to reduce Make it your business to anxiety which is everknow what’s going on both in growing in our schools. A the wider world and in your subscription box like Teen neighbourhood so that you Calm will help to introduce don’t get taken by surprise. activities and items which will help to lower anxiety. 3. Don’t be that grown up who dismisses the YouTube 7. Make your own safe world challenge It’s very real and very Maybe it will even go viral! 35
