Our parents didn’t worry like we do, right? And maybe we can cool it too. Bring your anxiety level down with Free-Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry). This super readable volume manages to pull apart the fears parents have, from abduction on down, and it shows that there’s not as much basis for them as we thought. Lenore Skenazy’s is a powerful and funny voice of sanity in a culture of fear and obsession with every thought, feeling and fart our kids have.

Most heartening, according to Skenazy, dubbed “America’s Worst Mom” after she let her 9-year-old son ride the NYC subway alone, crime is actually down to ’70s levels and the best thing we can do to keep our kids safe is to teach them how to handle themselves in the world with sound advice and a healthy dose of independence.