Deadly Games Children Play

This web site is intended to increase the awareness of parents, teachers, police, community groups and children to the risks young people take when they play the Choking Game. The Choking Game achieves a brief high or euphoric state by stopping the flow of oxygen containing blood to the brain. The Stop the Chocking Game Association has more information and can be contacted through this web site.

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The Eight Americas: Mortality Rates Among U.S. Demographic Groups

A black man living in a high-crime American city can expect to live 21 fewer years than a woman of Asian descent in the U.S. His life expectancy is, in fact, closer to that of people living in West Africa than it is to the average white American.

This new study examines death in the United States through an unusual lens that refracts the population into eight demographic groups, the “Eight Americas.”  The study reveals a United States that is pocked by places where millions of adults face a risk of premature death like that in Angola, Mexico, Nigeria and other parts of the developing world. Those differences have not changed in two decades. This article comes with a graphic showing the eight demographic groups.

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Virginia Youth Can Refuse Conventional Medical Treatment

A follow-up to a story in last week’s Brevity, Starchild Abraham Cherrix will be allowed to refuse more chemotherapy and to continue to follow an alternative treatment for Hodgkin’s disease. The ruling escalates a court battle that pits parental rights against government intervention on behalf of a child.

++++++++++Indiana Child Safety PSAs Rattle Viewers

These public safety announcements about the safe supervision of children are compelling to watch. There are three of them. One shows a father leaving a young child in the bath while he takes a phone call. The second shows a mother who loses sight of her child in a backyard swimming pool. The third ad, scheduled to appear in August, shows a mother who suffocates her baby while sleeping with the baby on a sofa. All three PSAs from the Summer Supervision Campaign can be viewed at the Indiana Department of Child Services web page.

++++++++++A 16 Year Old Refuses Chemotherapy

A Virginia teen went through chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease once and has refused a 2nd round of  treatment. His parents are charged with medical neglect. He and his parents are treating his cancer with an herbal remedy and an organic diet for which the American Cancer Society says there is no scientific evidence that it is effective. Although he isn’t old enough to vote or buy a drink, Abraham Cherrix argues that he is old enough to make decisions about treatment to save his life.

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America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2006

The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has released this annual report that includes detailed information on the welfare of children and families. The report is available online at the link above.

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