At this point you might be wondering, “What about the dads?”Dr. Sarnecka, the cognitive scientist, has an answer to this. In March, Utah became the first state to pass a law protecting “free-range” parents. I felt these fears every time I stood at a birthday party with 30 other parents, watching for two hours as our children played. Kim Brooks is the author of the forthcoming “Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear,” from which this essay is adapted. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.

Source: New York Times July 27, 2018 15:00 UTC