The article notes that it's usually women that drop out of the workforce to stay home with the kids, but it doesn't mention that it's usually women who are the

The article notes that it's usually women that drop out of the workforce to stay home with the kids, but it doesn't mention that it's usually women who are the ones being paranoid about unsupervised children. 30 years ago, I think it was the total opposite. My mother (and many others) were fine with the kids coming home by themselves and being latchkey kids. what changed? "Adam" in 1983. I noticed a significant shift in parental behavior after that movie came out. My mother declared that I was no longer allowed to walk home alone after school. Talking with other friends later on in life, they too noted that things changed in the early 80's. One cited the rise of AIDS as a reason his mother wouldn't let him walk home. Another cited the McMartin preschool trial. The fear of random people snatching up and molesting/murdering kids became endemic. Fear had taken over.