The paranoia is commonly considered as a result of wider media coverage. Every single national and, often, international media covers most child abductions. This widening of coverage gives the, incorrect, impression that child abductions are on the rise. Statistics suggest they are falling rapidly in modern times. .. Citations are left as an exercise for the reader. Personally, I feel the lack of diligence on parents by parents in teaching children safety around roads is probably the last bastion of letting the little critters roam free. (Wait for the lights in <i>all</i> cases when with your children. Never walk behind cars, if in any way possible, stopped or moving.