I feel it too. My kid is 6 and my most important goal right now is survive and be able to provide until he becomes a young adult. My father died right when I was 20 year old and while it was hard I managed. I can't image how hard it would've been growing up without a dad. And without a mom is probably even worse but I let moms worry about that.

Staying alive isn't enough - plenty of kids with dads (or moms) who are alive but still grow up without them.

Absolutely, staying alive but not being part of the child's life is not much different than being dead from their point of view. In my case I have a very good connection with my kid and spend a lot of time together, my kid gets priority over a lot of other things such as personal goals...

As they get older it hits harder, just the thought of any harm.

Yea, I find myself growing increasingly sensitive. I spent several years in Afghanistan and now the most mildest of violence even in media bothers me. I couldn’t imagine either of my sons having to go through that or anyone else’s children. Life is so incredibly precious and until proven otherwise rare.

Yeah. This really changed for me after getting a kid. The thought I hope to live long enough to see my kid do X crosses my mind on a regular basis. Makes you enjoy all of it much more, especially because a lot of things that I can see her do now, I wished to see ~10 years ago.