I remember watching a 1970s clip from Sesame Street about a mom instructing her very young daughter to go down to the store and buy a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter. It was something so normal in this country that the lesson of the clip was about remembering things. Nothing about safety, stranger danger, neglect, or any of this stuff. Things are safer now than they were then with far less crime, way better ways to track and keep in touch with people due to mobile technology.
I think people need to lighten up. Unless you're in a third world country your kids isn't going to be victimized by roving bands of criminals. They have a better chance of being sexually abused by a family member than a stranger. Frankly though, it seems like this brand of helicopter parenting is confined largely to suburban areas. In the city I see kids out and about going to the park, the corner store, or the playground all on their own. They even take the subway and buses to school. In fact, the school district gives free transpasses to the subway and buses to any student who lives more than a mile and a half from their school, starting at FIRST GRADE. Meaning it's accepted that 6-7 year old navigate public transit to get to school on their own. Students who live closer than a mile and a half are expected to walk from first grade on. You don't hear daily horror stories about this. The worst stories you'll hear is about bullying after school, which definitely needs to be addressed, but not by taking away the personal freedom and responsibility of the victims of it.