When it comes to pushing boundaries, teens are the masters. It's as if anything that their parents wouldn't want them to do is automatically 20 times more attractive. With that said, it'll never cease to amaze me the crazy things that teens do because, well, everyone else is doing it.
We've laughed about some of the latest teen trends like milking, owling, and batting. Unfortunately, not all trends have funny potential, and as a parent, it's important to know what kinds of things your kid (or their friends) could be doing.
Check out our list of 10 dangerous teen trends, here:
Have you heard of all of these trends?
Planking
Planking has been around for a while now and, for the most part, is harmless. It's when kids try to do it in between two unstable objects or in dangerous areas (hello train track plank to the left) that it gets scary.
Back in May a 20-year-old fell to his death planking off of a balcony in Australia.
Vodka Eyeballing
It's as gruesome as it sounds. Because it gets the consumer "drunk really fast," kids literally pour vodka straight from the bottle into their eyeball. My eyes burn just thinking about it.
I-Dosing
Teens around the country are getting high on the Internet, literally, with MP3s that induce a state of ecstasy. I know, I couldn't believe it at first either — but allegedly there are online dealers who can hook teens up with digital drugs that get you high through your headphones.
Reportedly, the tracks bring about the same effects of opium, cocaine, and marijuana.
The Choking Game
According to ABC, 6 percent of adolescents have played the choking game at least once. In the game, a person is essentially gagged until they pass out with a belt, rope, or towel. Then when the oxygen and blood come back to the brain, there's this euphoric high.
Brain trauma, brain damage, and seizures are results of this game. Sounds REALLY fun.
Bath Salts
The street name for powdery stimulants, bath salts are sold over the counter and can make you race just like cocaine or amphetamines.
Snapchat
An app that makes it easy to send photos to friends, that sounds cool, right? The issue: Snapchat photos disappear seconds after they are opened forever, which makes it a common way to send risque photos, especially for teens.
The Salt & Ice Challenge
It's pretty much what it sounds like — teens are putting salt on their bare skin, then placing ice cubes onto it. The reaction? Potentially horrific third-degree burns that, in the past, have landed teens in the hospital.
The Cinnamon Challenge
Teens attempt to eat one tablespoon of cinnamon without consuming any water in under one minute. The issue? It can put lives in danger. Kids have been landing in the hospital after attempting the stunt.
Car Surfing
One teen drives the car, another climbs on top and tries to keep their balance while the car is in motion. The fact that this is a "thing" breaks my heart.
Smoking Smarties
No, teens aren't actually lighting up using the tart, chalky candy. Instead, they're crushing it into a fine powder, drawing it into their mouths, and blowing it out in a cloud of dust, which they inhale. They also snort it.
The coughing that results from this is dangerous, yes, but the scarier thing is that this kind of behavior sets up kids and teens for a possible next step: real drugs.
