As a parent it becomes super apparent how many interested parties, especially child-less interested parties, are interested in capturing the minds of your kids. Be it to make a buck, to further their political cause or for something sexual/nefarious. Or even usurping their minds and psyche into something destructive as an ignorant and unintended consequence.

Then all the "stupid" authoritarian, seemingly arbitrary and maybe even paranoid shit your parents pulled all of a sudden comes into focus and understanding. You, more easily see, how irrational panics happen/occur and sometimes when those panics aren't entirely unjustified

More age, and requisite life-experience, changes you as a parent. In some ways it's better, in some ways it's worse. I've been a better parent and a worse parent for my younger children - IMO 30-32 is/was the right age to get balance in these things.

I expect that differs by cultural setting, nationality, etc..

Couple of examples: I'm less hot-headed as I age; I'm less physically able (much more than I expected).

Adults don't look at it and call it BS immediately, either. If anything kids are better at it. e.g. we all knew that the moral panic over violent video games was a bunch of BS.

I think these are two different classes of issues you’re comparing.

Kids are perhaps often intuitively good at evaluating the severity of unintended consequences.

Adults are much better at being aware of deliberate efforts to take advantage of developmental stages and tendencies.