> Everyone who got out of that decade alive and with at most minimal brain damage thinks that we're too obsessed with safety today.

There must be a word for this, but the issue today is the normalization of zero-risk.

Did some kids likely die because of the shenanigans free range kids were allowed in the 70s - 90s?

Sure!

Were those kids as cohorts on the whole better off because of the freedom they were allowed at formative years?

I'd be hard pressed to argue against that...

Sometimes it takes a few broken eggs (or children) to make an omelette (a responsible and creative adult).

Maximize the good to each individual, but only up until it begins impacting the good of the many.