The whole thing goes back to 80s and 90s daytime TV and people like John Walsh who pushed “stranger danger” unbelievably hard. Two generations of parents have been taught that the streets are crawling with child predators when in reality attacks by people not known to the child are very rare.

For whatever reason this took off in America more than most other places. US culture seems very prone to moral panics and crime scares.

The fact is that the vast majority of child abuse and abduction is committed by a family member or someone known to the child like a teacher, pastor, neighbor, coach, etc.

Stranger abductions are horrific and terrifying but they are nowhere near the top of a list of bad things likely to happen to your kids.