Comment by logifail | Hacker News Reader

Comment by logifail | Hacker News Reader

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> Then about three weeks ago he got distracted in the bathroom and fell off a stool with a toothbrush in his mouth. I'll spare you the details. These accidents weren't directly caused by our goal of giving our kids more independence, but they had the effect of making that goal all but impossible, at least for now.

Earlier this summer we had our family holiday in Italy. In week one I had a bike accident which necessitated a visit to the local emergency room and I was wearing a dressing on my arm for the entire holiday. In week two my daughter had an unlucky fall and cut her forehead which necessitated a(nother) visit to the local emergency room, she needed stitches. In week three our eldest was stung by a jellyfish while swimming in the sea. Huge weals all down his body but (fortunately) no trip to ... the emergency room.

We have three kids and you would not believe the number of times I've had to drop everything to take one or other of them to the doctor and/or the hospital.

> the risks feel so real and paralyzing

Seriously: please don't give up on your wish to let your kids explore the world!

> We have three kids and you would not believe the number of times I've had to drop everything to take one or other of them to the doctor and/or the hospital.

This would cost most families (without gold plated healthcare subsidies from being a government employee or other generous employer in the US) $10k to ~$17.5k per year, and those ranges go up every year.

A single doctor visit is usually $200 to $300, and emergency room visit might as well be your annual out of pocket maximum ($10k to $17k).

I grew up before out of pocket maximums were a thing, and I remember my dad distinctly telling me to be careful not to injure myself because it could derail the whole family’s future. This was because my parents were immigrants who were building a small business, so they had equity to lose, but not enough cash flow to purchase healthcare. I also thought about impacts to my sister’s future, who is 6 years younger.

I never did participate in sports and never needed to go to the doctor or dentist.

Today, I earn enough to not have to worry about healthcare expenses, but I would not have had kids if I did not have the ability to pay for two calendar years’ worth of out of pocket expenses (~$34k, in case injury occurs on Dec 31).

> This would cost most families (without gold plated healthcare subsidies from being a government employee or other generous employer in the US) $10k to ~$17.5k per year, and those ranges go up every year.

Maybe the parent poster does not live in the US ;-)

I assumed they do not, and intended to offer a perspective of American parents.

I see, I did not get that. I guess it would have been more clear if you had written "most US-families".

> A single doctor visit is usually $200 to $300, and emergency room visit might as well be your annual out of pocket maximum ($10k to $17k).

In the spirit of sharing data from a very different system:

Emergency room visit was €40 for me (checkup/cleaning/dressing), €55 for my daughter (stitches apparently cost extra).

A simple follow-up doctor/clinic visit in Italy was €15 (first time) / €10 (repeat), I paid this a few times each time I had my wounds cleaned and dressed, and again for my daughter when she had her stitches taken out and a check-up a few days later.

I was lucky enough to have parents like you. I look back fondly on the adventures and all the accompanying accidents and injuries.

What parents can perceive as trauma is a really cool story for a kid.

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