Westfield Schools Warn About TikTok 'Skull Breaker Challenge'

WESTFIELD, NJ —Westfield Schools Superintendent Margaret Dolan sent an email to parents and staff Tuesday warning them of a dangerous social media challenge that's already been blamed for the hospitalization of a middle school student in Cherry Hill.

Dolan's letter said,

<blockquote>

Dear Parents,

Reports of the latest challenge trending on the social media app “Tik Tok” prompt me to reach out and ask you to again review Internet and social media safety with your child(ren). The so-called “Skull Breaker Challenge” reportedly involves two young people tripping a third individual as he/she jumps in the air, causing that person in the middle to fall hard on the ground. There have been news reports of several serious injuries in incidents across the country.

Please talk to your child(ren) about this and other dangerous trends on social media and the internet as we work together to keep our students safe.</blockquote>

According to news reports, the parents of a 13-year-old middle school student in Cherry Hill were warning others after he was hospitalized on Jan. 24 with a severe concussion. His parents said that when an ambulance rushed to his middle school, they found him unresponsive. He had fallen while trying to complete the challenge.

A spokeswoman for the Westfield schools said Wednesday that she did not know of any similar incidents in the Westfield schools.

However, Dolan added on Wednesday, regarding her letter, “I feel it is important to work with our parents to help our students understand appropriate ways to use social media. Digital citizenship and online safety is something that we take very seriously in Westfield Public Schools."

Earlier this month, the Millburn Fire Department warned of a different challenge spreading on TikTok called the "Outlet Challenge" or "Penny Challenge," involving placing a penny near a plug after removing the plug from an outlet. That challenge reportedly caused a fire at a high school in Virginia this month, and a student was arrested.