The issue with that seems to be 1.) fear of kids being kidnapped, thanks to mass media exposure of such events. Look at the impact Adam Walsh’s murder alone had on parental behavior.
2.) Increased societal and legal pressure on parents to shelter their children. There was a thread just this last week about a mother who nearly had her family and life destroyed when a neighbor ratted her out to police and CPS for letting her kids play outside unsupervised.
3.) the growth of bureaucracies like CPS, with broad and invasive missions and tyrannical powers. They need something to do to justify their existance, and often times are held accountable (about the only thing they’re held accountable for) for acting in a “fair/even handed” way (iow with strict demographic quotas for who they target)
To add 4.) Media and marketing onslaughts designed to play up risks from infectious diseases in order to sell anti-bacterial product.