Whenever Ms. Gordon lets her sons go outside now, she cleans house. "All right, my kid just went around the block to his friend, let me sweep," she says. "Because I know if the house is clean, that's the first step toward making a good impression on Child Protective Services. It's a bizarre thought process, but—"
But not completely irrational. Gordon (who asked not to use her first name) has had the cops called on her four times for letting her sons, 5, 7, and 9, walk and play outside in Bala Cynwyd, a suburb of Philadelphia. Reason reviewed several private messages Gordon exchanged with friends corroborating her version of events.
