‘America’s Worst Mom’ Still Wants Your Kids to Run Wild
May 20, 2026
Recently, while visiting my mom in the suburban development where I grew up, I noticed something eerie: the neighborhood had become a ghost town. It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon, but the streets where I used to bike and roller skate and play kickball with neighbors were empty. I figured there were no more kids living there, but my mom and her friends said that there were plenty of young families, just that they were likely just inside on their phones.
That seemed depressingly plausible. But there’s likely even more to the story.
