Think of society today. Children are way overprotected in schools and in the general public. We have crossing guards, liability...we don't even let children throw snowballs, for christ's sake. The reason is, of course, to prevent those very few accidents from actually occurring. They will occur, but we can reduce their numbers.

It's simple overprotection: the people involved in an accident freak out and demand overprotection, but the drawbacks--maybe that children will be less emboldened and individualistic--probably outweigh the risks. Think of security at airports: it bugs the hell out of people, but we do it in the very small chance that a shoebomber is boarding the plane.

The Aes Sedai follow the same system of over-protectiveness at the expense of learning rate. Other societies are less protective, and remind me more of primitive societies that say, "man up!" Our society doesn't say "man up," it caters to the weak by giving everyone protection. The Aes Sedai are the modern-day grade school, whereas the Seanchan, Seafolk, and Aiel are more like boot camp.