You may have heard the sleepover stories where the first kid to fall asleep is written on with markers by everyone else, or the sleepy guest whose hand is placed in a glass of ice water. Kids at sleepovers are often on a quest to tease each other and engage in crazy antics.
But unfortunately, some of these antics are anything but a laughing matter. The latest “prank” sweeping the internet is extremely dangerous. There are many “challenges” out there that may have started out as something fun to do, but actually pose a danger to kids’ lives.
The latest challenge is one that parents need to be aware of. Not only is it terribly risky, but it has been getting a lot of news coverage lately for its serious and lasting consequences. It can cause very bad scarring and sometimes even permanent damage.
It’s called the hot water challenge and prompts one person to take a container of boiling hot water and throw it on an unsuspecting person. Another version has a person drinking it.
It takes mere seconds for the boiling hot water to cause third degree burns when it hits 140 degrees Fahrenheit. There unfortunately are YouTube videos surfacing that show kids exactly how to carry out this challenge.
Sadly, eight-year-old Ki’ari Pope passed away in March after being dared to drink boiling water through a straw. She ended up hospitalized with a tracheotomy, deaf and with chronic respiratory problems.
Another 11-year-old was hospitalized in August after she was asleep when her friends threw hot water on her. An Arkansas teen sustained first- and second-degree burns on his neck after his friends showered him with boiling hot water while he slept.
The 15-year-old and six boys were at a friend’s house for a sleepover with the boys who were still awake tried the hot water challenge on him. He woke up screaming and crying when he felt the overwhelming burning sensation on his neck. He told THV11:
“I felt this really bad burning on my neck … I laid in bed for two hours and finally got up. I went to the bathroom and realized that this had happened then they told me they had poured the hot water on me…”
The teen went home and his mom rushed him to the hospital. Reportedly, the teens didn’t realize just how hot the water was.
Since the incident, the teen said the others are no longer his friends. His mom is begging other parents to speak with their children about the hazards of online challenges like the one that harmed her son.
Watch the video below to learn more about this story.
