Imagine picking your 5-year-old child up from school and having her show you her new hoop earrings. Real earrings. On her little 5-year-old ears that, when you dropped her off in the morning, were not pierced. Uh, yeah. That’s what happened to Eloise Cardenas when she picked up her daughter, Mia, from Dallas-based Marquita KinderCare earlier this week.

Mia had apparently been complaining to her teacher that her ears hurt. Cardenas figured she was coming down with an ear infection ’til she took a closer look and saw her child was wearing earrings. “Who pierced your ears?” she asked incredulously. The little girl told her a teacher in a different class had done the piercings, which left her earlobes sore and red, reports The Star-Telegram.

Needless to say, Cardenas was outraged. Can you blame her? You drop your child off at daycare expecting her to interact with friends, have a snack or two, build a tower, maybe play dress-up. Body piercings isn’t exactly up there on the list. Not that the issue is even about piercing. The Star-Telegram reports that Mia had previously had each ear double-pierced but had stopped wearing earrings two years ago, causing the holes to close. It’s more about this teacher – one who is responsible for the well-being of many little children – to use such more judgment. I mean, what was she thinking?!

It gets worse. Cardenas confronted the teacher, who responded, “Mia had said it was okay.” That’s right, she trusted the judgment of a 5-year-old.

“She’s a kid. You’re an adult. You should have known better,” Cardenas told her. I’d say! [tagbox tag=”daycare”]

There’s also the whole safety issue to consider, too. That’s what would freak me out the most. As in, did this brilliant teacher bother to sterilize the needle before using it (and what was she doing with needles, anyway)? Or maybe she didn’t even use a needle or gun but rather an actual earring, which is even more cringe-worthy.

KinderCare spokesperson Colleen Moran said the teacher has been “disciplined” (meaning she’s been written up, but that’s it). Cardenas and her husband also filed a report with Forth Worth police.

“I don’t blame the day care,” Cardenas said. “I blame her.”

(Photo: Anastasiya Igolkina/Shutterstock)