As
incredulous stories go, the one about people eating laundry detergent as a
challenge is difficult to beat. Why would any healthy person put Tide Pods into
his or her mouth? Well, perhaps I should have asked “What sane healthy person?”
would do this because this practice is insane.
For
those who do not know, the “Tide Pod Challenge” involves people – mostly
teenagers – putting these detergent packets into their mouths and either
spitting them out or ingesting them. Since the thin membrane coated pods are
filled with not only soap but also chemicals, they can cause a variety of
serious injuries and can even lead to death.
Why
Tide Pods?
There
are always new challenges that come and go, but hopefully this one is not here
to stay. The allure of the pods is supposedly because they look like a treat
and appeal to children; obviously, they are also attracting the interest of
older kids too as well as adults. Personally, I have seen these pods and do not
understand the appeal. No matter how pretty they look, my mind sends a warning
signal that they are filled with laundry detergent.
Parents
of young children usually take great caution to keep all hazardous items away
from them. When my kids were little, we had locks on all the kitchen cabinets
to prevent them from getting to detergents, cleansers, and the utensil drawers.
Once our kids got older, all those locks were removed because we believed our
kids knew better. Obviously, the “Tide Pod Challenge” proves that some older
kids do not.
A
Form of Punishment
I
have no idea why anyone would want to put soap in his or her mouth. When I was
a kid I used to get soap put in my mouth when I used a bad word, just like
Ralph in the classic film A Christmas
Story. While the soap used in the movie seems almost pristine, that was not
the case in real life.
My
Mom would make me sit on the edge of the tub and take the bar of soap from the
shelf – complete with hair and every bacterium imaginable on it – and shove it
in my mouth. Those would be the longest five minutes of my life until she came
back to remove the soap and tell me to brush my teeth.
The “challenge” in those
days was not to puke after Mom took the bar out of my mouth. Those punishments
– which still make me shiver – are the only reason why I know how bad soap
tastes.
Pop
Rocks and Soda
This
“Tide Pod Challenge” does make me think of something stupid I did as a
teenager, which at the time seemed scary and thus exciting. This involved putting
Pop Rocks candy into my mouth and drinking soda with it. Anyone who has tried
Pop Rocks knows they fizzle in the mouth, but the addition of a carbonated
beverage was said to cause a combustion that made kids’ heads or stomachs
explode.
The
rumor going around was that the kid Little Mikey from the iconic Life Cereal
commercial tried the Pop Rocks and soda challenge and died. Despite what would
become an urban legend – and no, John Gilchrist who played Mikey
A
Serious Matter
It
is not just because of the colorful soft pods that the “Tide Pod Challenge”
clearly appeals to teenagers, but it is more an outrageous act that defies
logic and reason. Why would people put those pretty but poisonous things in
their mouths? Well, that’s exactly the reason why – to defy, to dare, to do
something crazy just for the sake of the craziness of it.
The New York Times reports reports that in the first half of this month poison control
centers handled 39 cases of teenagers exposing themselves to the pods, which is
as many cases for all of last year. If that doesn’t get parents’ attention, I
do not know what will.
I
think parents will need help with this situation, and it probably would be a
good idea for school districts to also address this issue as the serious health
matter that it is. This can be done in a variety of ways, but it is essential because
some kind of instruction is needed K-12 to avoid having many more cases that
involve serious injuries to the mouth, esophagus, and stomach.
When
something like this happens, it is easy to think it is amusing or that it will
not affect us, but we need to talk to young people and try to guide them as to
the dangers involved with this and all kinds of challenges. The very nature of challenges
is that there is some risk involved, so that is why intervention is needed
especially in case like this.
Parents
of the little ones have to make sure those attractive pods are nowhere in their
reach. Those with teenagers have to sit down and have a serious talk about it. Common
sense and safety take a great deal of time to implement, but the catastrophic
consequences that they can prevent are more than worth the effort.
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