14-year-old boy in hospital with iron burns after card game gets out of hand in Fukuoka

no bullying here just boys being boys, as stupid as they may be.

My brother and his friends used to do similar things with lighters as teenagers, to show how tough they were, and he still has the scars to show for it- most teenage boys are complete idiots.

that is one poor card player...

'who you calling poker face !'

Boys being boys. Really, really stupid boys, yes, but nothing sinister here.

He must have been pretty steamed!

Hope the 2 lads manage to iron out their differences.

Yeah, when I was at boarding school we had uniform checks and never enough time to change our clothes. At the ripe old age of 8 years old, one of my friends offered to iron my shirt - while I was wearing it. I sit have the scare of that little escapade.

With regard to this case, I don't know if there was bullying involved or not. However, it seems to be rather interesting in terms of the group dynamics. A modern day incarnation of "Lord of the Flies." Anyway, I hope the young chap gets over this situation and carrying his scars with pride. Also hope he gets the chance for a bit of payback when it all dies down.

Seen too many violent videogames/manga/anime?

When I was a teenager the thing to do was to put our forearms against each other and put a lit cigarette in the middle, then let the cigarette burn down towards our arms. First one to move lost.

Second and third degree burns were commonplace.

These guys watch a little too much of the Gakki no Tsukai batsu game specials. Seriously... you do the slapping of the hands, the "shippe" on the arms, etc. Burning?? What was next, stabbing?? This wasn't bullying unless it was only THIS kid who keps losing while the others up the punishment (and the losing was set up).

this isnt a surprise! even my good friend got a cigarette burn from his childhood bestfriend while on a drinking spree last month! he only noticed about it the next day, but the scar is very visible until now! im not sure if he's proud of it, but i asked him if that was his idea of fun and he answered "no".

Seen too many violent videogames/manga/anime?

no.

No doubt playing for money too...at 14, they learn the national past-time of gambling very early!

This is normal for a all boys school..when I'm a small kids, we use to play "UNO" before the semester break, the losing penalty is a cut in the arm with a switch blade.I think is a good way to letting off the bad blood among friends..nice memory back then..

Seen too many violent videogames/manga/anime?

Nice. Stupid kids did things like this when I was a kid, which was well before violent manga and video games. Unless you consider Pac Man violent.

The boy’s mother noticed a burn mark on his arm the next day and took him to hospital, where he remains with the burns expected to take up to a month to heal, police said.

So she noticed not because the kid was complaining or anything, and yet he is still in the hospital? I suspect overreaction.

14-year-old boy in hospital with iron burns after card game gets out of hand in Fukuoka

What a snappy headline!

boys just being boys ???? i hope my son won't be playing stupid like that when he is a teenager... it really hurts when my kids get hurt.. moms cant take it...

14-year-old boy in hospital with iron burns after card game gets out of hand in Fukuoka

14-year-old boy in hospital with burns received from an iron after card game gets out of hand in Fukuoka

Japanese TV

That's one tough kid, to take that kind of treatment and not even complain afterward. I hear about these kinds of "games" at boy's boarding schools and always wonder why they put up with it, it doesn't seem worth it. I'm a little shocked to hear about this happening at an ordinary school, though! I guess complaining to mom isn't really an option for them if they want to keep their friends, though. Sad situation. I wish someone had told him that being tough in front of your friends isn't the only way to prove his masculinity. I don't think second and third degree burns are very fun, and the scars that result aren't really that harmless. It probably hurt like hell. Like I said, tough kid.

I have a feeling it was less about violence and more about not understanding the extent to which the iron could do damage. I have certainly touched an iron to see if it had heated up. If you touch it quick it does not damage but 1 second can really cause a blister. Anything more is extremely dangerous. I think it is a case of nothing more than boys, bravado and braggadocio.

Looks like a case of "boys will be boys", although stupid boys at that. If the kid wasn't too bothered by the burns, I don't see why anyone else should be. Hopefully, a stern lecture to both kids will do the trick.

The fact that the boy was hospitalized for his burns certainly implies it was a little more serious than your standard boys will be boys behavior.

Idiots will be idiots, not that all boys are idiots, but these dorks burning each other? Well just plain fools! They need a good horse whipping and teach them some common sense!

"We were playing pinochle. It's a rough game." - Stalag 17

I suspect overreaction.

I'll second that.

How can one be hospitalized for an overreaction in Japan when hospitals here even turn away women in labor? I'm a little curious about that, but luckily have never been in a position to find out personally as I have yet to go to a hospital here. I'm not surprised that he kept quiet, most children in these situations do, and most Japanese are loathe to complain about anything.

"We were playing pinochle. It's a rough game."

More like playing Pinochet (you know the Chilean game).

elbudamexicano said:

They need a good horse whipping and teach them some common sense!

Hmmmmm, Let's go from "Boys will be boys" to "Adults will be masochists."

so theyre tough boys....i remember playing a game in high school when I was 15 where you throw a knife into the ground and yuo have to move your foot to the place it lands without going off balance, and well, once my friend misfired and it lodged in my inner thigh OUCH!!!!! you can imagine me explaining this to my conformed japanese parents!?! I had to go to the hospital and received 12 stitches, and I can clearly remember the doctor slapping me across the head as the feeling of embarrasment was huge. all Im trying to say here is that kids are just kids, and really dont think about the consequences like 90% of the time. Sencho

gotten out of hand?!?!??!?!?!?!??! this is assault.

Have to totally agree with gogogo!! lol...you see stuff pretty darn close to that on TV all the time here.

And yes, boys will be boys. This is nothing new, as amazingly intelligent and mature as we all might fantasize that we were in our childhoods, many of the guys out there got up to some daft stuff (ok, ok, we girls did too...sometimes). Boys did stupid stuff, are doing stupid stuff and will always do stupid stuff. It is part of growing up. That is why parents (and doctors) are here to give "slaps" up side the head to make sure boys understand that stuff IS stupid and to ensure they actually do grow up rather than get killed by the stuff they do.

I don't know. I've have a pan of flaming hamburger grease spill on my leg and spent zero days in the hospital when I was 11 years old.

This iron must have been hotter. 1 month to heal and a stay in the hospital? What a wuss.

I think it is a case of nothing more than boys, bravado and braggadocio.

Agreed!

Boys being boys, I remember my best friend and I shooting each other with bb guns. He won and I had to dig a pellet out of my leg. Then there was staff fighting (with pool cues) on the roof of another friends house where he nearly fried himself by swinging a metal pool cue into an electric line. How about punching each other in the shoulder as hard as you could to see who would cry uncle first? Playing chicken with cars on a country road? The list is too long to remember but there's a few from my childhood.Anyone who thinks this is bullying or assault or whatever is either female or didn't have a very rough and tumble youth. Never underestimate the stupidity of junior highschool age boys.

Hmmm... what is the word I'm looking for... Oh yeah! BAKA!!!! :-/