What I don't understand about the last generation of mothers

Every generation reserves the right to tell the next generation about how the world was a more innocent, decent and creative place when they were growing up. Now? Well, the music is just noise, the kids have no manners, and all the fashions are just a sad rehashing of the glorious outfits they already wore. Isn't that what your parents told you growing up? Well, apparently, this right to lecture the new generation does not end as said younger generation enters their thirties and become nervous, overprotective or "those kids are fine" kinda parents. This is a phenomenon I understand. It is universal, eternal, even human.

What I don't understand about the last generation of mothers is why they are so concerned about their grand-babies getting cold (during a heatwave) or being exposed to that treacherous night air (the perils of which could be a whole conversation in itself) and yet so unconcerned about babies sucking lead or choking on a peanut. I bet, if I could survey these women in any neighborhood in the US about their top five exhortations to their sons / daughters / -inlaws / passer-bys on the street, the list would look something like this:

1. Cover that baby's head.
2. Pull those socks up.
3. Don't you think that baby should have another bath?
4. Give that baby some more rice milk / chicken (depending on age)
5. When in doubt, add another blanket.

Clearly, the last generation has some serious questions about my generation's ability to clothe, shelter, and feed our young. At the end of the day, is this just because they are our mothers (or someone's, anyway) and still can't believe we can do anything by ourselves? As annoying as all of this can be, I recognize it does come out of a genuine (albeit, often unsolicited and even misguided) interest in the baby's well being. So, even this I can live with.

On the other hand, my mother's (although notably, not MY mother) generation of women has a surprisingly flippant attitude to a host of other medical topics that parents today are struggling with--environmental contaminants, carcinogens, lead paint, pesticides, nano particles, flame-retardants and allergens, to name a few of the hotest these days. And we know way too much now to go back to Kansas. We know, for example, that boric acid kills cockroaches and yet it is on our baby matresses; we know that hundreds of plastic toys in Walmart and Toys R Us are made in China and there have been some *ahem* regulation issues in the past few years; we know that the sun causes cancer and apparently so do most of the ingredients in most sunscreens.

And there is more, oh is there ever more--more of what we know for certain and more of what we are only certain of in rats with small amounts. So yes, forgive me if I struggle with deciding how to protect my baby best. Forgive me if I get nervous when you try to feed my baby nitrates with a little processed cheese product on top. Forgive me if I'd rather have my baby sleep next to me, where I can hear him breathing, then smothered in thermal blankets in a room down the hall. Forgive me if I pause and fluster when you say "I always did it that way with my kids and they turned out fine"--is there any polite response?