I agree with this. 30 years ago you didn't hear about child abductions or other crimes as much and it wasn't a topic of conversation, ever. Now it's just the opposite. From what I've seen with my own three kids and their friends, from a young age they are made aware of the risk of violent crime and so are definitely more fearful than kids were years ago.

Given that, I think there is still an extreme that even by these standards would not be considered "normal". I am and always have been very fearful in nature, so I go to extremes and check (and re-check) the locks, closets, showers, under beds, cover all the windows at night, etc. When I asked if this was normal, I got a straight up "No, that is not normal"