[nradov]

Many people trace the inflection point back to the kidnapping of Etan Patz in 1979. The case was highly publicized and made many parents afraid of child predators in a way they really hadn't been before. That case and a few others led to putting pictures of missing children on milk cartons so then the fear was in their faces every day.

https://crimereads.com/how-the-disappearance-of-etan-patz-ch...

[daanlo]

And today‘s parents were kids then. So they grew up with pics of missing kids on their milk cartons.

[kirsebaer]

As a child in the US in the 1980s we were told over and over by the TV and school to never talk to strangers, to run away from people offering us candy or asking us to help them find their lost puppy. But there was essentially no education about how to avoid abuse by teachers, sports coaches, and family.