Dad Who Nearly Lost Son to Tide Pod Responds to Deadly Teen Challenge
Some viral “challenges” are harmless or even for a good cause. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a great example.
They can be fun and harmless, unless the participants deliberately make them worse. They can even raise awareness and sometimes funds for the ALS Association and other deserving groups.
These challenges become insanely viral at their respective times, and many enjoy watching when one of those videos pops up.
But recently, there’s been a new challenge. The Tide Pod challenge.
It’s dangerous, poisonous, and downright stupid. Teens all over social media are sharing videos of themselves actually eating laundry detergent pods.
They go so far as pretending to cook them in a pan and serving them in a bowl. Then they legitimately spear them with a fork and bite into them.
As someone who lived through the “choking challenge” era, where you choked yourself to see how long you could go, I’d put this on par with that teenage stupidity.
If any of them paid attention in chemistry class, maybe they would know how bad of an idea this really is.
One father has spoken out. And not just to his kid, who is still in single digits, about not making a bad decision like this, but to the world and those posting the videos.
Chris Slaydon and his wife, Heidi, have a son named Blaze.
When he was 18 months old, Blaze found a Tide Pod on the floor and, thinking it was candy, ate it.
He was hospitalized for 10 days for severe throat burns, infiltrated lungs, and a blocked airway. But that wasn’t the end of his troubles.
He will likely have breathing issues for the rest of his life. His father said in a Facebook post that after any major physical activity, his son is up all night, miserable and coughing.
All because of a laundry detergent pod. This boy nearly died doing — on accident — what many kids are now doing on purpose.
So do your kids a favor and talk to them about not deliberately ingesting poison, no matter how many “likes” they’ll get on social media for it. It’s not worth risking their life for.
If you think your child has consumed a laundry pod — deliberately or accidentally — call the local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
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