Welcome to June, 2006 "News of Hope" 

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Are you a parent? A counselor? A teacher? An auntie? An uncle? A grandparent? A foster parent? A school administrator? An adult who cares about teens? ... Whatever your heartfelt commitment to youth, we support you in knowing all that you can to guide them to good choices and success!

Newsletter of Hope
June 2006 CONTENTS
"DANGEROUS TEEN TRENDS"
. Choking Game Ignites Fears
. Mother Missed Signs - Teen Died
. New Trend in Teen Fiction: Racy Reads
. 'Cool' can Change in IM Instant for Teens

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Print from Past Newsletters on our website...

Known by a dozen different names -- from the Choking Game, the Fainting Game, American Knockout, Space Monkey to California Dreaming -- the game should be called deadly, warns 10-year-old Johnny Johnson's mother, Lisa Johnson.

Johnson's son reportedly lost consciousness March 28 in a boys bathroom at Moccasin after he and at least two other students played the so-called choking game, according to a Buchanan police report.

The game involves inducing unconsciousness by restricting the supply of oxygen to the brain by holding one's breath and having another person briefly choke or put pressure on the participant's neck.

The generations-old choking game has been played throughout the world but has recently garnered headlines because of a rash of accidental deaths, especially when teens attempt the game alone and strangle themselves.

Children and teens play the game because it gives them a sense of euphoria or a "high" and is usually done as a dare among boys, according to a Web site dedicated to educating parents about the game's dangers.

Her son is expected to be examined by a heart doctor today, Johnson said, after recent tests suggested possible heart irregularities.

Johnson said her son has complained of headaches since the blackout, which also caused him to lose control of his bladder.
South Bend teen psychologist David Botkin said he is familiar with the game, although he hasn't counseled youngsters who have been involved.

"Teenagers are well known for not being able to say no to peers in any number of foolish enticements," he said, which explains why teens do dumb things like "puff paint thinner," which can be toxic to the brain.

Preteens, who are more susceptible to not thinking about the dangers of an activity like the choking game, need to be closely supervised by adults, he said.

Their friends also should be monitored. If a child's circle of friends says a dangerous activity is fun, an impressionable preteen will likely go along with it, Botkin said.

Tips for Parents:

Here are some ways parents can determine if their child may be playing the deadly "choking game."

1. Inexplicable marks or bruises on the throat
2. Frequent, severe headaches
3. Redness of the eyes
4. Belts, leashes, ropes, shoelaces tied in strange knots or found in unusual locations
5. Unexplained cuts or bruises from falling
6. Disorientation after spending time alone
7. Locked bedroom doors

For more information, visit Stop the Choking Game.com

-from theSouthBendTribune.com

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Mother missed signs of 'choking game': California teen died seeking high with rope around neck

Looking back, Sarah Pacatte realizes she missed the warning signs.

But at the time, the mother of four thought maybe her 13-year-old son, Gabriel Mordecai, was smoking marijuana. She never imagined he was putting a rope around his neck and choking himself for a rush.

"A couple of months before he died, he became very hostile, very angry, and he complained of horrible headaches," Pacatte said. "Then I started seeing bloodshot eyes."

What killed him in May was the "choking game," one of the names for a practice in which children use their hands, arms, ropes or belts to cut oxygen to their brains and pass out.

Pacatte says she wants to warn other parents about the risks before it's too late for them.

"I feel a little bit of anger, but mostly I feel desperation and urgency," she says.

Details of how the "game" is played, once passed among schoolmates, now spread on the Internet.

Gabriel's twin brother and best friend, Sam, says they learned of it from an older boy, who showed them how to hyperventilate and apply pressure to their necks.

"You kind of like pass out for a few seconds," Sam explains.

"It's a sensation ... like we've never experienced before," he said, calling it "weird."

"I really didn't like it that much," he says, adding that he did it out of peer pressure.

When Sarah found out her sons were playing, she told them to stop.

"Gabriel was argumentative about this game," Pacatte said. She recalls him saying, "What's the big deal? I'm not taking any drugs; I'm not drinking or anything."

Children have likely been playing the "choking game" for a long time, Connecticut-based child psychologist Dr. Lawrence Shapiro told The Associated Press. "Younger kids don't know that they can die from this, that it's a very dangerous activity," Shapiro told the news agency.

-from CNN.com
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