A warning to parents appeared on the Fort Scott Middle School Facebook page on January 31 of a Choke Out Game or Tap-Out Challenge that has been happening at the school.

“The Choke Out Game, also known as the Tap-Out Challenge, is a dangerous activity where individuals intentionally restrict their breathing or blood flow to the brain in an attempt to achieve a brief sense of euphoria or dizziness,” said USD 234 Assistant Superintendent Terry Mayfield. “This practice can cause serious harm, including unconsciousness, brain damage, and even death.”

“It is also known as many other things, chicken, redneck, tap out, blackout, etc.,” said Beth Worthing whose Fort Scott Middle School child participated and was taken to the hospital. “We need to let every child know not to play or accept this challenge…That you win the challenge when you walk away from it.”

“The challenge has been noticed in various schools and communities, with reports indicating it has gained some attention in social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. The post on the Fort Scott Middle School page serves as a warning to parents and caregivers, as this dangerous activity has surfaced among students.”

“While the challenge has been noticed primarily at the middle school level, it is important to understand that it can potentially affect students in different age groups. The influence of social media platforms, especially TikTok and Instagram, has made it easier for these kinds of trends to spread quickly among young people.”

Mayfield sent the following to help parents/caregivers in working with their children on this matter.

1. “Open Communication: Talk to your children about the dangers of participating in challenges like these and encourage them to speak up if they come across harmful trends.
2. Monitor Social Media: Keep an eye on the apps and content your children are engaging with, and consider using parental control features to limit exposure to risky content.
3. Educational Discussions: Discuss the potential consequences of these dangerous behaviors, and provide information about safer, healthier alternatives.
4. Encourage Peer Support: Empower children to look out for each other. If they see peers engaging in harmful challenges, they should know how to intervene and seek adult help if needed.”

One incident

The following is an account of a Fort Scott Middle School student’s mother, Beth Worthing.

“On January 22, I received a call from the school that Tyler had been choked by another student, but that he had agreed to it. Tyler was supposed to ‘tap out’ when he had enough,” Worthing said.

“The other student had choked out another peer prior and that student ‘tapped out’ of the challenge. Tyler said he doesn’t ‘Tap out’ so the child came over and choked him too.”

“Tyler did not ‘Tap Out’ he, in turn, blacked out. The child that choked him said he waited around 16 seconds or so when he thought he heard Tyler say something.”

“Tyler didn’t say a word, he couldn’t, he was out cold. When the child let go, Tyler landed flat on his face. He lost all consciousness, he could not recall things from before the event or after.”

“My husband picked Tyler up from school and took him to Nevada Regional Medical Center. I arrived about 30 minutes after they got to the Emergency Room. Tyler was in and out of fogginess all afternoon. He had no idea how he got from the school to NRMC, and bits and pieces of the event were coming back to him.”

“Tyler had a CT scan, and x-rays as they thought his nose may also be broken.”

“I asked Tyler if other kids were participating in this, and if it’s a challenge or something that’s going around. Tyler told me he had no clue it was a challenge.”

“I however had a hunch it was, and was a bigger thing than Tyler knew or understood.”

“I called the Superintendent as I felt God used Tyler for a greater good that day. I just had a hunch he was the wake-up call this community needed to raise awareness and hopefully end this.”

“I called (USD234 Superintendent) Destry Brown, and stated all my concerns. I could have blamed the school, or the child that choked him or went about this so many different ways, but that wouldn’t have put the right amount of urgency on this challenge.”

“I didn’t want another parent or child to go through what we did or worse, as I have a childhood friend, Jen Burns, who lost her son at age 9 about 9 or 10 years ago, so I was already aware of the dangers.”

“I told Destry Brown what I wanted to come from this was awareness to all the parents and children in every school in our community.”

“I said Tyler is your wake-up call. This happened this way for a reason. The fact that he didn’t die from being choked, or the fall that day, and that the event took place at school tells me this is a bigger deal than we think, and we need to do our part to protect the children and families.”

“He agreed but stated an investigation needed to take place first.
“The Principal at the Middle School and Mr. Brown did their part. I got a phone call about a week later and Destry Brown notified me that this was a bigger deal than they thought, and that young children were allowing older kids to choke them, and asked them to ‘tap out’ when it was too much.”

“The young kids will think it’s cool to be doing a challenge or playing a game with the older kids.”