PRIVATE SCHOOL CHOKING HORROR
TWO boys at an elite school were “choked out” as part of a Tiktok “challenge” that has claimed the lives of at least five children elsewhere.
One of the Year 6 students was unconscious. The kids asked a classmate to do it.
The school said the boys had been punished.
Paramedics say there has been a spate of call-outs in South East Queensland, including “four in the space of an hour” at one point.
A cyber safety expert says children need to understand the social media craze is a criminal offence and “technically this is an assault”.
PRIMARY-AGED students at an elite Gold Coast school were choked out by a classmate and then punished for taking part in a Tiktok “challenge” that has claimed the lives of at least five children elsewhere.
Two Year 6 boys at King’s Christian College in Pimpama asked a friend to choke them for a social media blackout challenge. One of the boys was unconscious.
The Tiktok trend is also known as the choking game, fainting game, or pass-out challenge.
Senior paramedics told News Corp in March of a spate of callouts in South East Queensland, including four in the “space of about an hour”.
King’s Christian community relations manager Stephen Ruck said all of the boys involved in the game were issued consequences.
“There were two boys in Year 6 who asked a third boy to choke them so they could be a part of this game,” he said.
“We have a series of consequences that involve community service and the levels of community service depend upon what occurred and the individual’s level of involvement.
“It is true that the boys who were the receivers were part of that community service. They initiated this and they admitted that. To say ‘I want you to choke me’ is not acceptable.
“The child who was doing the choking has also had some consequences.
“We are working with the entire cohort around these ‘games’ and around being good citizens. Part of our education curriculum is teaching about keeping your hands to yourself and not inflicting damage on another person.”
Mr Ruck said he did not know if medical assistance was sought for the children involved.
The trend has already claimed the lives of at least five children aged between 10 and 14. They included a 10year-old girl from Italy, a 12year-old boy in the US and a 14-year-old boy in rural NSW.
Cyber safety expert Susan Mclean, a former Victoria Police member who regularly speaks at Gold Coast schools, said she had heard reports of the choking challenge occurring at a number of South East Queensland schools, including the incident at King’s Christian College.
Ms Mclean said the school’s duty of care for its students’ physical wellbeing should always come first, before any consequences or punishment.
“First of all, they need to make sure they have provided acceptable first aid, especially if any students were unconscious. An ambulance should have been called,” she said.
“They then need to ascertain what has happened and they need to make sure that the student who choked the others is disciplined with serious consequences. They need to understand that this is a criminal offence and technically this is an assault.
“The victims need to be counselled and supported because they have been in a traumatic situation. You certainly don’t punish the victims. This is not a case where consent can be given.”
In March, Queensland Ambulance Services clinical hub leader Jess Patch said there had been a spate of choking incidents at southeast schools: “In the space of about an hour, we saw four cases come up in South East Queensland,” she said. “When we looked at all the cases, they all identified as being involved in a passing out challenge. They all identified as being at schools – so they were all similar ages as well.”
She said all four were taken to hospital.
“Some of them were coming through as seizures, because you can have a seizure from holding your breath for too long. Some were coming through as they’d passed out and hit their head, so there were head injuries. But the majority of them were fainting episodes.”
Ms Mclean says cyber safety must be embedded in the curriculum.
She said schools needed to get ahead of trends: “The world has changed, you have to be proactive. Just Google ‘Tiktok trend’ and find out what’s happening before it happens in your own schoolyard.
“We know that Tiktok is full of these viral challenges, and we know that kids have done dumb things since the dawn of time. But we’ve never before seen such dangerous and stupid challenges that are killing children.
“Parents need to stop allowing their children to have Tiktok, they are too young to understand the dangers. That’s the first and best defence. But schools need to get ahead of the game as well.
“It’s not easy and teachers can’t be everywhere. But get proactive and when something does happen, look after the kids first and foremost.”
If you need someone to talk to phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800