Rather, it would be unfair to say that parents can or should necessarily do anything differently. It could be that you're already doing the best you can within your ability and in accordance with the tradeoffs you prefer.  There are disadvantages to the good old days or locations like where I grew up that get romanticized away by posts like the OP. Being way out in the middle of nowhere indeed meant I could stray father and be safer than in Atlanta, but we were also extremely poor comparatively.