Ear, mouth temps most exact

Depending on child's age, use either an oral or an ear thermometer for the best body temperature reading. Getty Images

Your child wakes up sick in the middle of the night. His skin feels clammy and he's shivering. You can tell he has a fever and you know his pediatrician will ask what his temperature is when you call for an appointment.

What's the best temperature-taking method?

It depends on the child's age, says Dr. Steven Pray, Bernhardt a professor at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. For infants, Pray recommends an ear thermometer.

The ear temperature most closely correlates with the brain temperature and is the best body temperature reading.

For older children, Pray says "the time-honored way of taking an oral temperature" is fine. Just don't use your mother's glass thermometer. That should be turned in to a hazardous waste facility because of the liquid mercury.

Instead, consider any number of oral thermometers: rapid readers, pacifiers, even some with flexible tips that are more comfortable for children's small mouths. "The oral reading is a standard that everyone feels comfortable with," Pray says.

But make sure you follow the directions on how best to take an oral reading.

"A mistake many parents make is relying on the underarm temperature method," he says. "It's not very accurate because it's reading the skin surface, not core temperature."

And don't forget that a fever isn't necessarily a bad thing. "It's a misconception that you should treat a child's low fever with medication," Pray says. "Fevers speed things up and help us fight off infection."

That being said, it's important to follow your pediatrician's guidelines for when to call if your child has a fever, and to see your pediatrician if your child's fever is accompanied by a rash, sore throat, cough or other symptoms.