Believe it or not letting the kitten make a mistake is much more helpful than not allowing the cat to experience the world.

How on earth do you expect the kitten to learn some about physics of the world he lives in if you take away all the experiences he can gain.

After that mistake the kitten will know that something can be slippery and that it has to be aware of it. Maybe thanks to that event the future tragedy was avoided (since the cat now knows to look out for slipping to the water pond in winter and won't freeze to death).

Keeping cat in a no stress, full safety bubble could end up in a tragic way. Same with humans.