I agree with the OP. I have the same concern about not wanting to hit the curb when moving forward. So far, my solution has been to ask my wife to get out of the car and let me know how close I'm getting! I suspect that's going to get old really really soon. She may even insist on driving while I get out, lol.
I asked my wife to watch the front too. While she reliably asked me to stop when I got too close to the front, she unfortunately did not notice the wheel scraping against the curb. For a few seconds, that incident affected our relationship.