By Ezra Helfand, Executive Director Have you ever seen the movie A Christmas Story? If so, you probably remember the famous scene where Ralphie and his friends triple-dog dare their buddy, Flick, to stick his tongue to a flagpole. I am sure many of you recall your youth when most of us witnessed or actively took part in some type of dare or challenge that involved unwise behavior. Similar types of double-dog-dares, referred to as “challenges,” still exist for our children today, however, the audience, the peer pressure and the danger element has increased beyond compare. In the past, dares were likely to take place on school grounds, public parks or in someone’s basement - in front of a handful of peers, at best. Today, challenges are recorded on smart phones and uploaded onto the internet for a teen’s entire peer network, and then some, to see. While some internet challenges are silly and harmless, many more...
