The internet is an amazing place, full of great information and cool ideas. It’s also full of dangerous disinformation and harmful ‘tips.’
Most of us who are raising kids today can remember our own parents giving us talks about stranger danger, and not following along with everything our friends did, and what to do if we got separated in a shopping center. What the MySpace generation didn’t really get was a lot of parental warnings about not trying things we saw on social media, and now we’re all kind of winging it, trying to script these warnings for our own kids.
The NeeDoh TikTok trend, in which content creators encourage kids to microwave their squishy toys, exemplifies why this talk is necessary.
Disinformation? On The Internet? You’ve Got To Be Kidding
Whether they’re trolling or sharing ideas they genuinely thought were great, there are plenty of content creators and comment section participants who offer handy tips and tricks that are ridiculous, cruel, or genuinely dangerous.
I’ve seen folks advise cutting the valve stems off their tires to prevent government spying (in other words, permanently releasing all the air from their tires), just to name one ‘pro tip’ you should never follow. And then there are the ‘tips’ for de-icing your windshield that I’m not even going to repeat, because I think you deserve to keep your windshield.
Some of these tips target kids, like the one about microwaving your device when it dies for a quick charge. (Do not do this.)
Then there are the ‘trends,’ from eating the hottest pepper or a spoonful of cinnamon to holding your breath until you black out, and even more frightening ones that involve dangerous substances.
As an adult, it’s easy to look at these, especially the most alarming ones, like cooking chicken in Nyquil or setting hairspray on fire, and recognize the danger.
Teens, especially younger kids, might not always see through them, and some trends can seem perfectly tame and innocuous to someone lacking the information or experience to recognize the danger.
NeeDoh Burns Are The Latest Tragedy
If you haven’t encountered NeeDoh toys, they’re these squishy little fidgets that come in a variety of shapes and colors.
Squishy fidgets can vary widely in texture, and apparently, some kids got the idea that a good way to soften up stiff NeeDoh items was to microwave them.
This does not work out well. The squishy gel material inside the toys gets really hot, really fast, and multiple kids have suffered serious burns when they take them out of the microwave.
Serious warning here: your child can encounter these dangerous ideas even if they don’t have TikTok themselves. One 9-year-old boy, Caleb Chabolla, heard of the trend from a friend, according to ABC7.
“It’s like a stress toy. I didn’t know it was a trend on TikTok before, because my friend did it before, but she didn’t get hurt,” Caleb said.
His mom described the aftereffect, saying that her son was screaming, “It burns!” and that from her vantage, it looked “like his face was melting off.”
Loyola University Medical Center, where he was treated, said that Caleb was the fourth child they’d treated for such an incident this year, and it’s only February.
Even The Smartest Kids Can Be Impulsive Or Credulous
Remind your kids that people on the internet are strangers, even if they’re major influencers. Ask them to talk to you before trying any trends or tips they see online.
Even someone they’ve interacted with online for a long time, or feel they know, can be wrong or misinformed. (Offline friends can be, too, as evidenced by the NeeDoh case above.)
Ask your kids to think critically about anything they encounter online, even if it seems like a great idea.
Before joining any trend, they should consider whether it will give away personal identifying information; whether it involves using a product in a way outside the manufacturer’s recommendations (like microwaving a toy or combining fire and spray products); and whether it involves items that should be used with caution, like electricity, knives, or fire.
Assure your kids that when the trends are just silly fun, like a new dance, cool recipe (do we remember TikTok pasta?), or innovative craft, you’ll be supportive of them trying it, but that they need to employ discretion, and if they have any doubts, they should speak to an adult first.
Staying informed is your best tool, so keep a conversation open with your child about the trends they’re seeing, the content they’re consuming, and the accounts they’re following.