10-Year-Old Girl Dies After Taking Part in ‘Blackout Challenge’ on TikTok, Family Speaks Out

A family in Pennsylvania is speaking out after the death of their 10-year-old daughter, who is reported to have participated in the Blackout Challenge on TikTok.

In short, the challenge—which has appeared in a number of headlines this year—is built around the idea of intentionally losing consciousness. 10-year-old Nyla, per a regional report from WPVI-TV, died earlier this month after attempting the challenge. As Nyla’s mother Tawainna Anderson explained, her daughter “was a butterfly” and will be remembered as a “fun and bright” child who had learned to speak three different languages.

“Make sure you check your kids’ phones,” Tawainna advised. “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.” Nyla’s death, Tawainna said, marks “a pain that won’t go away.”

According to a Daily Beast-highlighted online memorial page, Nyla died on Dec. 12. A ceremony is set to take place in Chester, Pennsylvania later this week. Elizabeth Wood, who works as a licensed clinical social worker with the PICU’s Division of Critical Care Medicine at Nemours Children’s Hospital, is quoted in the local ABC report as stating that Nyla had been in her room at the time of the incident. Her family was also home at the time.

“But no one was in the bedroom with her when this happened, so there was no one there to save her,” Wood said.

Earlier this month, TikTok was in headlines due to local reports out of multiple states regarding threats of violence allegedly having been made against various schools on the platform. However, a TikTok rep later said no evidence was found of such threats having originally stemmed from the platform.