The games we play

As kids we were pretty creative in making our own games. I remember playing “cricket” with a dirty rag rolled into a ball and an old notebook or exam pad used as bat. Then there was box cricket, Chinese cricket etc. Another favorite pastime was playing “tennis” on the road with old chappals as the “net”, while our hands served as a “racket” to hit an MRI ball across. Fun times.
Nowadays, kids are playing different kinds of games. Apparently some kids are playing the “choking game" in which they try to experience a fleeting "high" by cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain. U.S. says 82 youths have died in "choking game".

The report, the first effort to track this nationwide, identified the deaths of 82 people ages 6 to 19 from 1995 to 2007 that appear to have been caused by the choking game. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the report likely underestimates the toll. Boys accounted for 87 percent of the deaths in 31 states, the CDC said, with the greatest number of deaths among boys ages 11 to 16.

It also is known as the "blackout game," "passout game," "scarf game" and "space monkey," the CDC said. The CDC does not think publicity caused by the report will lead to more children trying the practice, Toblin said. "We chose to go ahead with the report because we think it's critical that parents, educators and health care providers become aware of this phenomenon so they can look for the warning signs of it."

Warning signs that a child may be trying the practice include bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, severe headaches, the presence of ropes, scarves or belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor, or the unexplained presence of dog leashes or choke collars.

What would be interesting is to find out what is influencing the kids to play this game? Is it because of the perverse crap they see/read on the internet? How do you educate such kids and prevent this from happening? And more importantly, how do you teach someone not to kill themselves?

Doesn’t anyone play ball anymore?