The Little Girl Who Wouldn't Say Mercy

Mercy is a childhood game that you may recall playing in your past. If you are unfamiliar with this game, let me give you a brief explanation to lay the foundation of my story. Two people intertwine their fingers together, and then proceed to bend each other's fingers backwards to create pain. The loser will say "Mercy" when they can't take any more pressure.

Mercy is meant to be innocent and not harmful to anyone. Usually, children are smart enough to say "Mercy" when they can't take any more pain. I recommend you discourage your children and others from playing this game for the true example I'm about to share with you. Not all children are willing to give up so easily and will go to the ends of the earth to prove their pride.

My oldest child is apparently one of those children who has too much pride and prefers to win at this game. On her first day of school as a sixth grader, she was on the ride home in the school bus and thought it a good idea to challenge an eighth grade boy, twice her size to a game of mercy. The game commenced and neither party said "Mercy". The outcome was not positive. To this day, I don't know if it was because it truly did not hurt or because she was being stubborn. As a result, her middle finger was broken. Yes, broken. The way the doctor explained it was her knuckle was torn away from her finger. Surgery was performed to re-attach the knuckle. To this day, her finger has not returned to normal, as she does not have full range of motion.

We were very unhappy with the older child who apparently didn't know his own strength and let the game go as far as it did. We arranged a meeting with his parents to make sure they fully understood the situation. We also contacted the school for not addressing this issue with us as it occurred on their property. I can honestly say this did not have much impact on the child or the school.

The intention of this game was primarily for fun however; that was not how it ended. My child went through pain and suffering because of this silly mistake. When I see children play this game, I tell them the story of a little girl who wouldn't say mercy. They usually stop playing this game immediately, probably because I interrupted their fun and they think I'm crazy and not because of what could happen to them.

My daughter is now 16 years old and a little wiser. Now we reflect on that day and laugh a little. As you might guess, this was not funny at that time but after a while when emotions and physical complications have healed; you can look back and make fun of the situation. I encourage you to share this story with all parents and children. Spread it around to raise awareness of the dangers of this game.