The Perfect Measure for Toddlers: Ear Thermometers

My rule with toddlers at home is to simplify everything that can be simplified. One of my favorite medicinal tools does exactly that. When I came home from the hospital, I was sent with a tiny digital thermometer to use rectally or under an arm. Lovely as it was being digital, it still took more than a minute to get a reading. With an infant, this was easy enough, but as baby got more of a mind of his own, sitting still with a tiny thermometer under his arm wasn’t something he was going to do – no matter what. Enter the ear thermometer.

Ear Thermometer
There are other cool thermometers out there. One reads by swiping the forehead and another is a pacifier, but the ear thermometer has definitely served us well. To use the ear thermometer, you line up the big bulky thing with the ear canal and press a button. About one second later, it beeps at you so that you know it’s done. The temperature is displayed digitally. I make it a practice to take a reading from both ears as it only takes a few seconds for both to be sure the number is similar and therefore more accurate.

Not only is it fast, the toddlers in my life love it. They line up to have their temperature taken and after Mom gets a real reading, the little guys get to take their own reading by pushing the button and hearing the beep. The ear thermometer we have is thick enough to avoid going into the ear canal more than a millimeter keeping those sensitive ear canals safe even when taking their own temperature, although it is best to be sure all use of a thermometer is done under your supervision.

Concerns with Ear Thermometers
When you use an ear thermometer, the temperature reading can be off a degree or two, so always be sure to tell your doctor or nurse that the fever you’re calling about was read with an ear thermometer. The reading can also be affected by how the thermometer is positioned in the ear, so I use multiple readings usually if the first comes back with a number different than I expected.

Ear thermometers are available from drug and baby stores starting around $20.

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