I, as a Dad, don't operate without thinking. I process all the what ifs my wife does.. And sometimes probably more what ifs than she does.

I just process them differently...I'm not as quick to recoil from potential danger as a reflex. .

And I can get away from controversial issues such as leaving a child in the car and use another example. Like being with my kid at the playground

Ive been taking my little guy, weather permitting, 1-2x a week since he was 13 months old. To the point he knows 2 parks, and 5 playground s like the back of his hand

I allow him to challenge himslelf on playground a bit more than my wife. I'll be more willing to let him try something with my hands under his butt to make sure i can catch him. I'll watch him get better and better over time until I'm comfortable he can do it without me.

So at 2, he was climbing 6ft rock walls.. At 3 he could climb back down them. (easiest example since so much equipment doesn't have a proper name) today he slid down a 6ft pole by himself for the first time. That would have never happened with my wife. But he's done with with my assistance 30-40 times. I've watched him be thoughtful and careful about it. I let him , when I know there's no real danger.. Have small/short falls so he understands that falling is a possibility and so he learns from tiny failures upfront rather than bigger ones later.

Whenever she takes him alone she's just very very apprehensive. She is less likely to let him challenge himself, she worries more about injury. Whereas I see potential for injury, I know what he needs to avoid, what i can mitigate, and what I can trust him to do and that all these things are in flux as he grows. . Whereas she's just no this, no that. She's not comfortable with any new thing until it becomes an established thing for weeks or months. Yet.. In 3.5 years I've never brought him home with more than a minor scratch on his knee.

I see this whole thread sort of through that difference.