Our daughter, 10, died after taking part in TikTok 'Blackout' challenge – check your kids' phones before it's too late
A HEARTBROKEN mom has spoken out to warn other parents after her 10-year-old daughter died while taking part in the TikTok "Blackout" challenge.
Tawainna Anderson rushed daughter Nyla to a Pennsylvania hospital after finding her unconscious in her bedroom on December 12 but the young girl passed away.
The family, including her twin brother Nakye and two other brothers, has said it is in shock after Nyla died while they were also in the home.
"I'm so hurt," Tawainna told ABC13.
"This is a pain that won't go away. It's at the top of my throat. I am so hurt."
She has now issued a warning to other parents to monitor young children's phones and to be aware of what kids are watching on social media.
"She was a butterfly," Tawainna said of Nyla, who spoke three languages and was described as bright and fun.
"She was everything. She was a happy child.
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"Make sure you check your kids' phones," the devastated mother urged.
"You never know what you might find on their phones.
"You wouldn't think 10-year-olds would try this. They're trying because they're kids and they don't know better."
The Blackout Challenge existed before social media but has become more prevalent in recent months due to its spread on TikTok.
The deaths of several other young people have already been linked to the dangerous trend.
Health experts say it can cause a lack of oxygen which can lead to cardiac arrest and other medical dangers such as significant organ damage, including brain damage.
MONITOR SOCIAL MEDIA USE
Nyla's cause of death has not yet been released.
"She happened to be in her own bedroom of her house, with her family at home," Elizabeth Wood, a licensed clinical social worker at the local hospital, told ABC.
"But no one was in the bedroom with her when this happened, so there was no one there to save her."
Doctors have said that the best action parents can take is to ask their children what they're watching on their phones.
Nyla's death comes after another 12-year-old boy died while taking part in the challenge in July.
The boy was found “unresponsive" with “ligature marks” around his neck in an Oklahoma apartment earlier this year.
He was taken to the University of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital but died of his injuries.
After speaking to the boy's family, cops said they believe his death to be linked to the challenge and not a suicide attempt.
SEVERAL DEATHS LINKED TO CHALLENGE
It came just a month after a boy in Massachusetts died following an attempt at the challenge.
Another 12-year-old boy in Colorado remained on life support for 19 days after attempting the trend in April.
Joshua Haileyesus was left brain dead after he was found by his twin brother passed out on his bathroom floor on March 22.
He was kept alive by a live support machine until April.
His devastated father, Haileyesus Zeryihun, had held out hope that Joshua was a “fighter” and might pull through; that he had been “praying for him every day.”
Yet shortly after his son was hospitalized, he had learned that there was a likelihood he “was not going to survive.”
“This is something that kids need to be given to be taught – to be counseled. Because this is a serious, a serious thing,” his father told The Denver Channel in March.
“It’s not a joke at all," he added. "And you can treat it as if somebody is holding a gun. This is how dangerous this is."
TikTok has not yet responded to arequest for comment on Nyla's death and the dangers of the challenge.
It has previously urged users to report any content that promotes the Blackout Challenge immediately.
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