I was exaggerating a little, but the issue still exists. There has been a change in general societal mindset around deeming the outsides as dangerous for children, even during the day. This mindset might not exist everywhere, but where it is prevailing, it is forced onto parents who let their kids out in the sense that they are looked negatively upon.
I've lived in several places and never had this problem. My instinct is that this is just another moral panic - not any different than fearing of child abduction when letting your kid walk to school.