Advocacy in Action: What Parents and Caregivers Need to Know about the Choking Game

Today we can celebrate our recent progress on our 2013 Resolution on Prevention of Asphyxiation Games (the Choking Game). Today we are another step closer to eliminating participation in this dangerous activity.

The joint efforts of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Illinois PTA have brought two important publications in this campaign:

• a new article on the dangers of the ‘Choking “Game”‘ has been published in the Illinois Pediatrician, “The Choking Game: Updates and Recommendations to Clinical Practitioners” by Kshama Shah, MD, MPH; Molly Diaz, MD, MPH; Lisa Garbaty; Joseph Hageman, MD; and
• an information sheet on the issue, The Choking Game: What Parents and Caregivers Need to Know, available in both English and Spanish.

As a result of recent deaths and injuries caused by participation in this activity by youths, we drafted the 2013 Resolution on the Prevention of Asphyxiation Games (the Choking Game) and brought this Resolution forward for vote by our membership at the 2013 Illinois PTA Convention. With the widespread approval of the Resolution at Convention, we began with the first steps of the resolution—providing important information to our local units and councils on the issue for their membership.

Continuing with the path outlined in the Resolution, we reached out to an organization which, like ours, is dedicated to Illinois children—the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics—to assist with those goals. After working diligently on the paper and information sheet for parents and caregivers, Illinois now has lifesaving information available to its pediatricians and parents on this important issue.

We haven’t yet completed each of the goals in this Resolution, but with our partnership with the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, we have made an enormous step forward.

Do you have an important issue affecting the youth of Illinois? If so, you may have the basis for the next Resolution brought to the 2015 Illinois PTA Convention! Where do you start? Just go to our Call for Resolutions Packet for an overview of the Resolutions process.

Make a Difference for Illinois Children: Answer the Call for Resolutions!