Source: http://qz.com/770655/kids-are-paying-the...

Parents have been arrested for letting their children walk to the parkalone or leaving a toddler in a car for a few minutes unattended. In 2015, police picked up two kids, aged 6 and 10, who were walking home alone. When the children’s father explained that they were allowed to do so, the police officer called Child Protective Services, and the parents had to put in place a “safety plan” detailing the children’s 24-hour supervision. It’s not only the US: In Britain, a recent study showed one in five children had been reported to social services before they turned five, many unnecessarily.

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Many of us in our 40s spent our early years benignly neglected, roaming neighborhoods; today, leaving a child under the age of 12 alone is deemed negligent, or worse, criminal. So why, if cities are becoming safer, are parents becoming more worried?