TURNING OUR TRAGEDY INTO A NATIONAL DIALOGUE TO COMBAT “THE CHOKING GAME”
Erik at the Pentagon, 3 weeks before he learned of this “game” and died from it the next day.
ERIK’S STORY
My son, Erik Robinson, died April 21, 2010 from the Choking Game. Erik was a normal, healthy 6th grader at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, California – an “A” student, avid athlete and boy scout. His dream was to go to West Point, enter the military and then law enforcement. He was the opposite of a youth “at risk”. Credible evidence is very strong that Erik’s first exposure to the choking game was during school the day before he tried it at home and died.
Documented incidences of choking game activity on middle school campuses are on the rise. It is an insidious epidemic that kills kids more instantly than drugs, yet denial of its prevalence by adults is so high that it is hard to spread the word in a meaningful way. No parent wants to think their child would do something so ridiculously stupid. Our whole family was in denial – despite police insistence that this was the cause of Erik’s death – until one brave schoolmate spoke up.
When I asked Erik’s school district if they would provide choking game prevention awareness, they asked if we could create a new training without graphic content that would broach the topic as a skills-building process rather than an instructional presentation. Stephanie Small, MFCT and I partnered to create an approach to meet these needs. A multitude of diverse professionals as well as parents and kids provided valuable input as we created it. Piloted in Santa Monica, CA, is was successfully used with a Los Angeles Unified School District middle school and is also being well-received in other parts of the country. This educational PowerPoint video is geared for children ages 9-16. You can watch ”Help Stop the Choking Game” on You Tube or here on this site.
My ultimate goal is for this issue to have the national exposure and dialogue it deserves – the way bullying is finally coming to light. Meanwhile, kids are still dying – approximately one child every week across the US and Europe (by very conservative estimates). Even more are injured. Unfortunately, too many choking game deaths are mislabeled as suicides and many injuries go unreported altogether.
Erik’s dream was to be a soldier – he wanted to save lives. My mission is to honor his legacy by saving the lives of other kids. Please share your story with us, tell a friend, share with others, join our cause and save kids’ lives.
Thank you, Judy Rogg (Erik’s mom)
Thank you for sharing just a small piece of Erik’s story… and I take my hat off to you for the work you are doing AND apparently so successfully. May we, here in the UK, soon be doing the same.
WE WON THE PEPSI CHALLENGE $5,000 GRANT! We finished at #6 (out of 212 ideas to choose from) in the Top 20 to get “Help Stop the Choking Game” into schools! I’m honored that Erik’s Cause was the ONLY education idea in the Top 10 of our category. Millions of voters! My heartfelt thanks to each of you who voted and those of you who asked your friends, family and communities to vote … It reminds me that Erik’s passing is making a huge impact on the lives of others and will help to save many lives. THANK YOU!!
So awesome that you won
Good going, Judy. I know Erik is proud of you.
In Proverbs we read: “The human spirit is the light of God” [Proverbs 20:27] Within each of us, God implants a divine spark. Each of us has the obligation to tend this spark and fan it into a flame that will light up not only one’s own life but the lives of others as well.
A lit candle can be snuffed out, or it can burn out, or it can kindle other candles. When the flame is passed on to others, the flame will continue to burn long after the original candle has been extinguished.
Erik was most certainly a flame that brought light into so many other lives. The flame that was Erik’s life does indeed continue to shine brightly through the many candles that were lit from his.
May the memory of Erik always be for a blessing.
The material that I received from Judy was very successful in opening a dialog with my kids about the choking game. I feel much better about talking with my kids with this kind of quality information. The information that Judy and Stephanie shared with me was instrumental in changing a ruling of suicide by the Medical Examiners Office in to the accidental death that it is.
Wow I seen Ericks story tonight as I was sitting here doing my homework. As a survivor of seven foster homes I remember doing the choking game and our parents would be in the living room and never knew what we were doing. One time one of the parents came through our room and one person was knocked out and she never notice. I am sorry to here about Erick and I will reference your site when I go out speaking at schools, this is a good source of information and science based for those that need that type of information. Thanks I will keep Ericks story alive too.
Robbie, I am so glad that you survived and are speaking out. Thank you for helping spread the word.
Happy Birthday Erik! We remember you! You would have been 15 today. We are doing everything we can to prevent this terrible activity from taking any more innocent kids.