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Dumb and ill-advised TikTok trends, they’re not just for kids anymore! Now adults are getting into the action, and they’re doing it at the expense of their very own children!
In the spirit of such classics like the “Pee Your Pants Challenge” where people literally peed their pants on video for no reason, and the “Skull Breaker Challenge” which caused people to suffer concussions, broken bones, and could have resulted in someone dying, comes the #EggPrank trend on TikTok.
What happens in this viral trend is a parent takes video of themselves cracking raw eggs on their kids’ heads with the accompanying hashtags #eggprank and #eggcrackchallenge.
“Challenge.” Not sure what the challenge part of it is. Not having DCFS come directly to your house? (Some kids are actually seen crying on video after the “prank.”)
Because it sounds like some doctors out there, if had their way, is exactly what would happen.
“This is not something that benefits kids in any way, and I honestly don’t find it entertaining,” Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medical consultant at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Florida and TikTok star, told NBC News.
Several medical experts told NBC News that while they don’t think the parents in the videos seem malicious, the prank could have unintended short-term effects, including bruising a child’s head or spreading germs from the egg.
“We’re literally smacking salmonella on their foreheads,” Martin continued.
“It’s harder to get a toddler to drink fluids when they’ve got a stomach bug or food poisoning, and so they’re more likely to end up in the hospital for IV fluids.”
@dailyeditions New tiktok trend: Parents cracking eggs on their kids heads 😳😂 #crackingeggs #eggs #longervideos #funny ♬ original sound – Daily Edition
According to Forbes, the #eggprank has already gotten over 670.7 million views on TikTok.
Dr. Martin and Amanda Mathers, a pediatric occupational therapist, are both worried that the kids are learning harmful behaviors because of the #eggprankchallenge.
“These toddler brains are developing and they are like sponges, you know, so they are just taking in everything that’s happening in their environment,” Mathers said. “And to think that they’re witnessing their parents, purposely, you know, harm them … it was really shocking for me to see.”
As a rebuttal to all of this concern, Sgt. Hulka from the classic film Stripes was asked to offer his comment on the issue.
So there you have it.