Derek Muharem, the principal at Bethel Middle School in Connecticut, recently sent home a letter to parents warning them about the ABC Eraser Challenge game that about a dozen students at the school have participated it. Students dare each other to take this challenge, then they basically mutilate themselves with a pencil eraser and compare the wounds. It's absurd and way more dangerous than you would think. Oh and Bethel Middle School is NOT the only school where it is happening. A simple online search for "eraser challenge" will bring up tons of videos.
So why are teens doing it and why is it so dangerous?
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Peer pressure seems to be the motivating factor for kids to take the Eraser Challenge. They see other kids do it, they get challenged to do it and they do it.
Now, when I first heard of it, I didn't think it was all that dangerous, but then I read the letter Muharem sent home to parents and it got me thinking of all the potential dangers other than permanent scarring. He wrote to parents, "kids take an eraser and begin 'erasing' their skin while saying the alphabet and coming up with a word for each letter. Once they get to the letter Z, they stop and then compare the injury to their friends."
Here is the part where it gets scary. Many times the kids break skin during this "challenge," then they pass on the eraser that they used to another student to follow suit. This opens up a whole sharing of bodily fluids issue that is a health risk. Not to mention that open wounds can lead to serious skin infections that can turn septic and kill a person.
It sounds ridiculous, but talk to your kids about this issue so that they know the dangers that are really involved. It's all fun and games until it's NOT. The news story below includes a student who has never participated in this dangerous game talking about what it has been like to watch friends do it and why she is speaking out to put a stop to it. Brava to her!
Oh and if finding out about this dangerous teen trend isn't enough to freak you out, check out this slideshow of the most dangerous teen trends we've come across and get ready to do some more talkin' with the teens in your life. –Additional reporting provided by Roxana A. Soto
Image via Thinkstock
NekNomination
This highly dangerous driking dare game has already killed two people. Kieren Hunter could've been one of them because he could've very easily choked in his own vomit.
Snorting Smarties
Believe it or not, kids are crushing Smarties and snorting them. As idiotic as it sounds, this trend is actually dangerous because even though kids don't get a high, they can actually damage their nasal cavities, get lung infections and even nasal maggots.
Condom snorting
Words cannot describe how disgusting this is. Nor can they explain why in the world someone would think snorting a condom this is a good idea! What is wrong with our teens today?
Rainbow parties
If you're thinking rainbows and unicorns for a child's birthday party, think again! Rainbow parties are basically this: girls wear different color lipstick and perform oral sex on one or several guys leaving them with a rainbow of colors.
Salt & ice challenge (graphic image)
Teens are pressing salt and ice against their skin for as long as they can take the burning pain, which is similar to frostbite. Many times, this stupidity leads to severe injuries like the second-degree burns this 12-year-old boy from Pittsburgh sustained on his back last year.
Getting drunk on hand sanitizer
Hard to believe, but since they have a hard time getting their hands on real alcohol, some teens have been known to turn to hand sanitizer to get drunk. Last year, six teenagers ended up in the ER suffering alcohol poisoning after gulping down hand sanitizer in California.
Cinnamon challenge
This stupid and very dangerous trend basically challenges teens to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 second without the help of water or any other liquid. Since the spice is caustic, it can cause choking, burning, throat irritation, trouble breathing and collapsed lungs.
Vodka eyeballing
This one sounds like one of the craziests things I've ever heard. But apparently it's become popular among college students. What they do is tilt their head and allow someone to pour a shot of vodka directly onto their eyes. This gives them a super quick buszz when the alcohol enters the bloodstream via the veins at the back of the eye. WTH?
Trunking
In many states, kids can't drive with passangers when they first get their driver's license. To avoid this, some have come up with the stupid and extremely dangerous idea known as trunking, which means having passangers ride inside the trunk. Two teens died this way back in 2005 and California made trunking ilegal… but kids still do it.
Choking game
In case you haven't heard, YouTube is full of videos that pretty much teach teens to do the most outrageous stunts–such as choking themselves to get high. For more than one teen, imitating what they see on YouTube has ended up killing them.
Butt chugging
Yes, I guess the photo says it all. As weird as it sounds, some college students think the best and quickest way to get drunk is through their anus! ¡Qué anormales! Not only is butt chugging totally stupid, but is extremely dangerous!
Car surfing
Kids simply don't get how quickly their lives can end when they do stupid stunts like this one known as car surfing. I know that the whole point is to get the rush of doing something dangerous, but if only they knew how dangerous it actually is…
Huffing freon
I was shocked to learn that earlier this year a 12-year-old girl died after inhaling freon from her the AC unit in her grandmother's home. I'd never heard of it, but apparently it's called "huffing" or "bagging" because kids put a bag over their heads and the AC unit and inhale the deadly chemical to get high.
Synthetic weed
Late last year, I was in shock when I learned about Emily Bauer, a teen who was left permanently brain damaged after smoking synthetic marijuana known as K2 that she bought at a gas station! Seems harmless, but it obviously isn't!
Vodka-soaked tampons
Although this has been discredited as a hoax, according to several TV news reports it is true and it's an ever-growing trend. Called "slimming" girls can either insert the vodka-soaked tampons into their vaginas or into their rectums, which is the preferred method since it gets them drunk quicker. ¡Qué horror!
