[ultrarunner]

As a parent, the answer is yes. I have literally, on multiple occasions, had middle-aged women stop their vehicles and ask my children in a panicked voice where their mother is. This, despite me being ~30 feet away in the front year overhearing the whole thing. My neighbor has shoed them off on our behalf. It startles my kids. They're asking to ride their bikes in the neighborhood and my main concern is that someone will call the police to "save" them from whatever fantasy they dream up.

This doesn't comprise 100% of our experience of life, but it definitely impacts my children's freedoms and my friends have conveyed similar experiences. A person wistfully contemplating their own childhood experience is different than "watching children for recreation" and the punishment thereof is a symptom of a greater problem with (U.S.) society.

[deleted_account]

Following the author's "How many men have exposed themselves this year?" logic, if nobody's called the police on your kids, why are you worried about it?

I know you want to roll your eyes at the middle-aged woman as being a hand-wringing looky-loo, but maybe that's just what the social safety net that makes free range kids a possibility looks like.

My elementary school-age kids walk to school. They know they might get approached by an adult asking where they live; they know how to answer: "I live up the street. No, I don't need help." NBD.

A counter example, I pulled over on my drive home from work to ask a five year old in pajamas wandering the streets near dark what he was doing out. I walked him home. Mom was horrified to realize the little dude had wandered out of the house.

One final thought on the original article, I think the author is willfully ignoring the banal reality of the situation to make their point. I'm sure the school representative wanted to say, "Listen lady, I've got 30 kids I need to monitor at recess and while you're probably a nice person you're another variable I need to keep in the corner of my eye. Take a walk."