The Myth of Stranger Danger

The book debunks the exaggerated fear of 'stranger danger' by presenting statistical evidence that serious, long-term nonfamily abductions are extremely rare. Lythcott-Haims emphasizes that children abducted by strangers represent only 0.01 percent of all missing children. She argues that daily decisions about children's safety should not be based on these rare occurrences. 'Why do we base our daily decisions about our children’s comings and goings on a one-in-a-million chance that our kid could be killed by a stranger?' she asks, highlighting the irrationality of such fears.