> So I ask, have things changed that much? Do parents really worry over
> safety and un-warranted after school fucking around?
Parents today worry about everything when it comes to their kids' "safety." I've had many conversations over the last few years with parents who are roughly my age (40) with kids roughly my kids' ages (9 and 7) about how different things were when we were kids re. kids' ability to roam around unattended by adults, the trustworthiness of others, etc., generally how we grew up in a much safer time. I gently--I am able to be gentle at times--point out that our fears are not and can't be based on actual incidence of malfeasance, since crime rates are lower across the board from when we were kids. This is usually met with the retort that "there are lots of sick people out there." I don't disagree with that, and I agree with them that our perception of crime and of danger more generally is real but that it's not based on actual crime or danger. At this point the conversation usually turns icy or to movies or sports. Parents are really invested in the idea that this is the most dangerous time in the most dangerous society in human history.