Moms, Dads, if you haven’t heard this yet, here’s the 3 words you NEED to know right now.
These are the 3 scariest, most sinister words your kids may already know.
BLUE WHALE CHALLENGE.
Yep, sounds innocent, doesn’t it?
It’s not.
Here’s what you need to know.
It’s the latest social media “GAME”. But it’s not a game, it’s your child’s life that’s at stake.
It’s a SUICIDE “GAME”.
Here’s what one grieving family says after they believe their 15-year-old son ‘accepted’ the challenge and killed himself this past weekend.
And here’s another resource for you:
Sinister ‘Blue Whale Challenge’ blamed for Texas teen’s death
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And here’s what you NEED to know:
The words: Blue Whale Challenge.
What it means: Kids accept the challenge – often in HIDDEN Facebook on social websites – and are assigned 50 tasks – one task for each of the 50 days. And the 50th task? Commit suicide.
These are often in ‘hidden’ groups on Facebook and other social sites like Instagram.So, keep in mind – you may not see it easily on your child’s phone or social sites – but awareness is key. Googling “Blue Whale Challenge” brings a quick search of massive information – but not necessarily if your child is in a hidden group or has accepted the ‘game’. Threats may come from the ‘group’ leader if you do not complete each daily task. So threats are part of this sinister online danger.
It is important to note that the family did find references to this challenge on their son’s phone, the San Antonio police and FBI have yet to confirm the connection. But these parents don’t want any other family to suffer their grief.
PARENTS, HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO
One Social Media Account Only
Keep Social Media limited, especially age-appropriate. The less access they have and the more you can monitor what they are doing online, the better. And by the way, it’s not necessarily what YOUR child may be doing online, but what are the latest online ‘trends’, or in this case, a sick ‘game’.
No Devices In Bedrooms
We’ve talked about this before – but No Devices (I say no screens at all) in their bedrooms. Will this make your child happy? No. But it might help keep them safe. The more you can do to be aware of what they are doing and what’s happening, the better for both you and your kids.
Keep YOUR Access To Their Online Accounts
Yep, this one’s a hot button. However, it’s CRUCIAL. (Again – age appropriate applies here as well.) As parents, it is so important that YOU know what your kids on doing online, on their phone, on their texts, on their social media accounts. Is it intrusive-as many like to say? I call it responsible parenting. Empower yourself with what’s happening and what your kids are doing on all platforms when it comes to online, phone, apps, texts, social media and anything web related.
Talk to them and Take Interest In Online Activity
Don’t laugh. I know, I know, it’s a difficult task. But it’s key. Here’s where empowering yourself becomes so important. Talk about what your kids are posting online (even if you already know), stay aware with resources and the latest trends that we post here. If your kids know that you are ‘in the know’, that can help awareness, foster communication – and most importantly, keep your family and your children safe.
I know, I know, I hear you – or rather even your kids’ voices:
“This is stalking.” or “I have no privacy!” or “This isn’t fair, you don’t trust me.”
This IS NOT STALKING.
This is called PARENTING.
Remember, there’s no perfect mom – but there’s always The EMPOWERED Mom.
Here’s some other sites, trends, ‘games’ for you as parents should be aware of to keep your children safe.
Here’s even more information as we’ve gone nationwide on radio and TV discussing this and educating and empowering parents. This interview is with Justin Barclay on WOOD Radio:
Here’s what you need to know, listening to this may help save your child’s life.