My child can't stand having his temperature taken rectally.
Pediatricians consider rectal readings the gold standard of temperature-taking, even for toddlers.
If you call your healthcare provider for advice about your toddler's fever, he may ask you to take a rectal reading so he can make the best assessment. A glass rectal thermometer looks just like a glass oral thermometer except that the end is short and stubby instead of long and thin. To prepare a digital thermometer, simply press the button to turn it on. Keep a spare one in your medicine cabinet just in case. Hold your child on your lap, tummy down and bottom up.