I am not a trained medical professional and this is my own opinion. This should not be taken or considered as medical advice.
First, which Thermometer? 
It’s tough to figure out the most accurate way to take a child’s temperature to see if they have a fever. OK, I have heard how it is best to take infants temperatures, but if you are like me, you cringe at taking your child’s temperature rectally. I never was able to do that with any of my children – I’ll leave that to the professionals. Then, how do you want others to take your child’s temperature? What if you have a babysitter? Or you leave them at an early learning center like Just Like GRAMMY & POPPOP’s?
During the COVID pandemic, I saw a lot of people using the point-and-shoot method where they used the trigger aimed at your forehead and it was super fast and likely the easiest. But I have heard that they weren’t and still are not very accurate.
I am taking the point-and-shoot ones that we got for the center home to use and got two new ones to use. One is a digital thermometer by Vick’s and gives a quick read. The other is one that you can use in the ear by Braun. I’m more comfortable with the recognized brand names when it comes to taking children’s temperatures. Both are used only with covers on them, which I really like for cleanliness.
Cheat Sheet for Taking Temperatures of Children
Since I was replacing the thermometers, I thought a cheat sheet would be helpful to train our team members. This could come in handy for new team members as they come onboard and it will be placed with the thermometers in our health basket as well. I usually do a search on Google first. If I can save time and use something that exists, most of the time I will. I did not find anything that would work, so I created my own version.
The benefit to creating my own is that I can share it! It might be handy for people to have at home to leave in the cabinet with the thermometers or with a babysitter. Of course, taking temperatures doesn’t seem that complex or difficult to those who have been down the road as far as I have been, but we all start somewhere!
Enjoy this copy of the Taking Children’s Temperatures Cheat Sheet below and feel free to share with others too!
Download your copy of the Taking Children’s Temperatures Cheat Sheet here.