View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.
When Eloise Cardenas dropped her five-year-old Mia off at daycare last Wednesday, she expected her daughter to play games, read books and, with luck, take a nap. But she got much more than she bargained for. At pickup, Cardenas discovered Mia's ears had been pierced during the schoolday; she was wearing new hoops.
According to The Star-Telegram, one of the little girl's teachers at KinderCare in Fort Worth, TX told Cardenas that Mia had been complaining that her ears hurt. It turned out this was because a different teacher had pierced the child's ears, and Cardenas was furious. The ear-piercing teacher's response? "Mia said it was OK."
"I said, 'She's a kid. You're the adult. You should have known better,'" Cardenas told the newspaper.
According to NBC DFW, KinderCare released the following statement in response to the incident:
"The teacher did place her earrings in the child's pierced ears. The safety and security of the children in our care is our top priority. We take this situation seriously and have reported it to State Licensing. In addition, the teacher was disciplined."
Cardenas and her husband aren't satisfied with the consequences. They are refusing to send Mia and her younger brother back to KinderCare until the teacher is fired. And, they filed a report with Fort Worth police. Though there is little the police can do.
According to The Star-Telegram, "While the Texas Health and Safety Code prohibits body piercings on children younger than 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian, the law does not apply to earlobe piercings."
Not all parents think the mishap is such a big deal, however. Cassie Rhudy, whose 16-month-old daughter attends the same day care, is one of them. She told NBC DFW:
"You know, when we look at today's society and we look at all the harm that's done to children, in comparison, it's nothing really."
Shawna Cohen over at Mommyish questions this line of thinking though. "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)?'