Sometimes you read a headline that makes you double-take, rub your eyes, and mutter, “No, surely this must be from The Onion.” But no. Real life, yet again, outdoes satire.

A neurosurgeon. Yes, a brain surgeon has been arrested for what officials described as “an incredible lack of respect” toward a patient. What did they do, you ask? Forget to say “thank you” to the anesthesiologist? Text mid-surgery? Nope. She brought her 12-year-old daughter into the operating room and let her participate in the brain surgery.

Now, I’m all for nurturing young talent. I’ve applauded the lemonade stand entrepreneurs and the teenage coders. I believe in internships, mentorships, and even a healthy amount of “shadowing” at work. But I draw the line at scalpel shadowing.

There’s “take your kid to work day” and then there’s “hand your kid a surgical instrument and hope for the best” day. Somehow, I don’t think Hallmark has a card for that one.

I want to know the following. What did the rest of the surgical team do? Were they frozen in stunned silence like background characters in a sitcom? Did someone whisper, “Um, doctor, is this part of the new hands-on STEM curriculum?” Or were they secretly relieved it wasn’t their kid pestering them with “Can I try next?”

And the daughter’s possible “What I did this summer” essay:

“Over summer break, I helped with brain surgery. It was kinda cool. I got a snack after.”

Somewhere, a guidance counselor just fainted.

It’s one thing to encourage curiosity. It’s another to let curiosity wield a surgical tool. This wasn’t “playing operation” with that buzzy board game from the ‘80s.  This was actual human gray matter.

As someone who’s spent years observing human behavior, I get that professionals can become desensitized to the extraordinary. To a neurosurgeon, a brain might feel as mundane as a spreadsheet does to an accountant. But to everyone else, it’s a brain. You don’t bring your kid to casually poke at one.

Maybe the doctor thought it was a bonding moment. Maybe she wanted to inspire the next generation. Or maybe, and this seems most likely, she had a very bad case of “what on earth were you thinking?”

In any case, let this be a public service announcement:

Take Your Kid to Work Day = adorable.

Take Your Kid to Brain Surgery Day = felony.