Local school warns parents about ‘eraser’ game

Bellbrook school officials warned parents Thursday about a disturbing game some students are playing that could result in children injuring themselves.

In the “eraser challenge,” students rub a pencil eraser on the skin of their hands or arms for an extended period of time. An e-mail to parents from Bellcreek Intermediate School Principal Mike Baldridge said students’ skin is erased “to the point of blistering and significant open wounds.”

Baldridge’s email told parents that a dozen fifth-graders had engaged in “this ridiculous and unsafe act.” The principal said a school nurse spoke to the entire fifth-grade class Thursday about the danger of the game and how to deal with peer pressure.

In an e-mail later Thursday to the Dayton Daily News, Baldridge called the game “a non-issue as it only applied to a few students but we were trying to inform parents to have them keep an eye on their children at home.”

The game got national media attention a month ago when a Connecticut middle school asked parents to discuss it with their children, saying a dozen students had injured themselves.

Officials at Dayton Public Schools and Kettering Fairmont High School both said their nursing staffs are aware of the game, but have not seen it in their buildings. Beavercreek school officials also said they’ve had no reports of the eraser challenge.

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