12 August, 2017
"Individuals are taking boiling water and throwing it on themselves", Donna McKinley, a mother who tracks potentially risky youth trends and speaks to parent groups, said. Another variation includes challenging someone to drink boiling hot water through a straw or pouring boiling water on themselves.
On Monday, Jamoneisha Merritt, an 11-year-old girl from the Bronx, was burnt and possibly disfigured when her friends threw boiling hot water on her during a sleepover, NY1 reported.
The breathtakingly unsafe Hot Water Challenge appears to have started two years ago but is now sparking urgent warnings following high-profile casualties.
Parents of victims have warned other youngsters not to take part.
The foolish game appears to have been responsible for a number of children receiving severe burns and potentially the death of an eight-year-old girl.
The 10-year-old suffered his injuries in July.
Police say the 12-year-old girl has been charged with felony assault for leaving Jamoneisha Merritt with second-degree burns to her face, neck, shoulders and chest.
The arrested girl is now believed to be on suicide watch in hospital having tried to kill herself. In the videos - it's not clear if the water is ever really hot - victims scream and writhe in apparent agony; later, burns are often shown.
When 8-year-old Ki'ari Pope's cousin dared her to sip boiling water through a straw back in March, she obliged.
She was treated in a hospital in Florida after the incident, undergoing a tracheotomy, an incision in her windpipe, but suffered ongoing respiratory problems and passed away shortly afterwards.
"Parents, talk to your kids about these challenges", Diane Johnson, Pope's aunt, told CBS 12. "Watch what they are doing". The page explained the girls got the idea from a YouTube video.
The trend does not appear to have yet caught on in the United Kingdom but there are a small number of posts and videos referring to the Hot Water Challenge from British social media social media accounts.
It says: "Hot liquids can cause life-threatening burn injuries". And make sure they know how risky boiling water is.
Aniya, now on suicide watch at a NY hospital, attempted to kill herself shortly after she saw how badly she damaged her friend's skin.
