The best baby thermometers

• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests parents use digital rather than mercury thermometers to ensure your family's safety.
• Depending on your child's age, you will want to use a rectal, temporal artery, tympanic, or oral thermometer.
• We consulted a pediatrician, looked at current research, and talked to other parents to determine and then test 11 of the most popular digital thermometers for babies.
• The best baby thermometers that we recommend are the Vicks Rectal Baby Thermometer, Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer, Braun ThermoScan Ear Thermometer, and Vicks ComfortFlex.
• Due to fears of coronavirus, many of these products are quickly selling out or appearing at prices well above market retail. We're doing our best to keep this guide updated with in-stock purchase links.

Fevers are never fun, but when you have a baby, they can be downright terrifying. Taking a fast, accurate temperature is vital. On tiny bodies, even small numerical swings have much greater impact than they do for us adults.

As the old-fashioned mercury thermometer has been phased out (or banned, as it is in 13 states), a plethora of digital options has risen to take its place.

Yet not all digital thermometers are fit for use on infants from day one.

"Up until 3 months, I like for families to take a rectal temperature with a basic digital thermometer," said Dr. Justin Smith, a pediatrician and the medical advisor for digital health at Cook Children's in Trophy Club, Texas. "After 3 months, parents can continue to take a rectal temperature or use a temporal artery thermometer (which you run across the forehead). This is different from a tympanic thermometer which is placed in the child's ear, which should not be used in children under 6 months of age because they are not accurate."

Why aren't ear thermometers accurate for infants? The thermometer probe is too large to slide down into the ear canal to register accurately.

Taking a rectal temperature with a crying, wiggling newborn isn't easy. Sometimes, it's downright impossible. While rectal is the preferred method, I recommend having a temporal forehead scanner on hand as a backup if taking a rectal temperature isn't possible. Today's technology makes forehead scanners precise, speedy, and noninvasive.

What kind of thermometer should you use?

It's a simple question with a not-so-straightforward answer. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers a thermometer use chart based on age, but it does not reflect current research, including its own, which supports the use of temporal thermometers. "I agree with the studies," Smith said. "A temporal thermometer is a very reasonable way to assess temperature."

Here are your best options by age:

• Rectal (bottom) is the only approved thermometer for babies under 3 months old.
• Temporal artery (forehead) is appropriate for babies 3 months and older, and as a backup when a rectal reading cannot be obtained in babies under 3 months.
• Tympanic (ear) is appropriate for babies 6 months and older, though a forehead thermometer tends to yield more accurate readings.
• Axillary/axilla (armpit) is the least accurate compared to other methods but easy and noninvasive, making it a useful "benchmark" temperature gauge.
• Oral (mouth) and non-contact infrared (forehead) should only be used on children 4 years and older who are capable of holding their breath.

A rectal or temporal artery temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher in a newborn to 3-month-old is not okay. Call your healthcare provider immediately and seek care.

Based on pediatric guidelines and Smith's advice, I looked at the latest and most popular models available, spoke with fellow parents, and noted top recommendations on doula and parenting groups to narrow down contenders to test. I tested FDA-approved rectal, tympanic, temporal artery, and multi-use models for this guide.

Except for rectal thermometers, I tested each one a total of 25 times on myself, my toddler, and my husband: mornings and evenings, in health and through a bout of flu. For the rectal thermometers, I tested them orally and in-hand, relying on additional feedback from four mothers who had used the models on their babies.

I evaluated each thermometer for accuracy, ease of use, design, and comfort. Now for a disclaimer: Nearly every model (tested and otherwise) has a grievance, from small nitpicks to sustained inaccuracies. Overall, the following products performed extremely well when rigorously tested.

Here are the best baby thermometers you can buy:

• Best rectal thermometer: Vicks Rectal Baby Thermometer
• Best forehead thermometer: Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer
• Best ear thermometer: Braun ThermoScan Ear Thermometer
• Best multipurpose thermometer: Innovo Digital Forehead and Ear Thermometer
• Best budget thermometer: Vicks ComfortFlex

Prices and links are current as of 3/04/2020. Based on pediatric guidelines, we added a best rectal thermometer. After testing, we replaced the Exergen Temporal Artery and Braun Thermoscan 5 thermometers with newer models. We also selected a new multipurpose thermometer (previously the Enji Family Digital Thermometer), removed the best overall and high-tech categories and picks (iProven DMT-489 Thermometer and Kinsa QuickCare Smart Digital Thermometer, respectively), and added a budget pick.

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