This. - People don't have as many kids as in decades past - The "stranger danger" mentality -- which the parent post aptly described as "tragic paranoia [1] a

This. - People don't have as many kids as in decades past - The "stranger danger" mentality -- which the parent post aptly described as "tragic paranoia [1] and hostility even though it is safer than ever" -- means kids aren't as free to roam the neighborhood. - Increased amounts of homework, organized activities and indoor entertainment means kids spend less time outside and have other ways to socialize [1] Children's services can take kids away from parents with minimal due process. Whether this is, on the whole, good or bad is a debate I'm not going to get into here. But I will note that sometimes the system screws up and targets well-meaning parents who give their kids too much freedom. Which leads to a chilling effect where even parents who recognize that giving the children more freedom is the rational thing for us to do as a society, it's irrational for individual parents because some idiots think otherwise, and the system sometimes listens to them, and it's just not worth the risk of having the authorities break up your family.