They aren't worried about the child. Anyone with a typical five year old knows they'll be able to cross the neighbourhood just fine.
What they are actually worried about what other adults will think the five year old is seen out alone.
That they aren't worried about the child is just an irrational statement. If there was nothing to worry about, then there's no reason to keep the kid cooped up out of public sight.
Yeah, it’s nonsensical, but such is people. Similar to why most people aren’t having children in their sexual prime, instead waiting until they are of geriatric age. The harsh reality is that society says it’s wrong to have children “young” and ostracizes anyone who does. Just ask any teenage mother about the scorn they had to deal with.
Thousands of years ago most people didn't have time to sit around and evaluate what other people, especially those outside of the immediate tribe, do. Back then, life was actually hard. Only the richest kings could even begin to live in that kind of luxury. And even up until around the 1950s, most people lived rurally, so the kids weren't apt to leave the property anyway – if they did, who was going to see it? Not to mention that there wasn't the "You must go to university or you will ruin your life" nonsense that has emerged in the past ~30 years. Hell, in my grandparents time, it was uncommon to even go to high school. Back then, growing up and having children was celebrated, not featured on MTV with a show that tries to convince people to remain children for life.
The times have changed and the people have adjusted accordingly. When the public welcomes children back into the world, the parents will let their children back out into the world. But so long as the passive onlookers who don't know how to think rationally or keep their mouth shut believe that children should be nothing more than porcelain dolls that are there only to hang on the shelf for guests to admire...
Thousands of years ago, people CERTAINLY had to the time to sit around and evaluate other people. You think everyone was running around in a field with a spear? They'd plant crops, do chores, and then sit around and do fuck-all, especially when it got hot in the afternoon hours.
Stop defending childish, modern idiocy. The times haven't changed at all. The people have changed. They've become cowards.
Found the busybody.