7-Year-Old in Coma After TikTok Challenge Leads to Toy Explosion

A Missouri family is reeling after a terrifying accident left their 7-year-old daughter, Scarlett Selby, in a coma with severe burns. The incident occurred after Scarlett attempted a viral TikTok challenge that involved freezing and then microwaving a NeeDoh stress toy, which ultimately exploded in her hands, coating her in scalding, glue-like chemicals.

A Harrowing Moment

“It happened so fast,” recalled her father, Josh Selby, 44. “One minute she was experimenting with the toy, and the next she was screaming like I’ve never heard before.”

Selby ran to his daughter’s side and was horrified to see the thick, molten material adhered to her skin. “I tried to scrape it off, but my hands stuck to her,” he said. “It was like napalm. I had to rip her shirt off because it was burning into her skin.”

Scarlett’s mother, Amanda Blankenship, 35, was equally shaken. “The pain was unbearable for her,” she said. “Even when we got to the hospital, she was still screaming.”

A Battle for Recovery

Doctors at St. Louis Children’s Hospital placed Scarlett into an induced coma for three days, fearing the burns around her mouth could cause her airway to swell shut. She remained hospitalized for a week, fed through a tube as her blistered lips prevented her from eating normally. While surgeons opted not to perform a skin graft immediately, the family has been warned that one may be necessary in the future.

Scarlett’s mother describes the emotional toll. “She gets self-conscious,” Blankenship said. “She looks at herself in the mirror and cries. When we’re out, I see her trying to hide her scars with her shirt.”

Social Media’s Role in Dangerous Trends

Scarlett was imitating a challenge seen on TikTok and YouTube, where users alter the consistency of NeeDoh stress balls by freezing and then microwaving them. The manufacturer, Schylling Toys, has a warning on its website advising against heating or freezing their products, stating that it “may cause personal injury.” However, this hasn’t stopped such challenges from gaining traction online.

Josh Selby is now urging parents to be vigilant. “Throw these things away,” he pleaded. “Once that stuff touches you, it won’t come off. It’s like hot glue burning into your skin.”

Despite TikTok’s official policy prohibiting “dangerous activities and challenges,” hazardous trends continue to spread. Last year, 12-year-old Corey Roper from Arizona suffered severe burns after lighting rubbing alcohol on fire in a TikTok-inspired stunt.

“These platforms need to do more,” said Blankenship. “Kids are getting seriously hurt, and we’re the ones left picking up the pieces.”

For now, the Selby family is focused on Scarlett’s recovery. “She’s beautiful, scars and all,” her mother said. “But this never should have happened.”