To not have a thermometer?

[GenerationGap]

And have never taken either of my children's temperature? What is this obsession about?

Yaaaaaaaay!! Someone like me lol. I'm 41, I have 3 kids aged 19, 11 and 8 and have never owned a thermometer in my life. In fact if I'm honest I don't think I could read one...let alone know what it should say.

My Mum was the same...had 5 of us and no thermometer lol.

Interesting question. Ask a doctor? They seem to rate fairly highly having actual data to go on when they see a patient or you ring them up, so I expect they could explain why.

And I've never (though to be fair haven't rang them for years) been asked by a medic on the phone what their temperatures were. They just tend to ask if they're running a high one...or I'll tell them they have a high one.

I've never used room thermometers either. I can tell if a room is too hot or cold by walking in to it.

Now I've got a thermometer I've realised that while I'm pretty good at telling when my kids have got a very high temperature or it's on the cool side of normal, high temperatures that aren't extreme are harder to spot that way.

If I've got an ill child I find it useful to know whether or not they've really got a temperature, or not, and my hand (or kissing them on the forehead or whatever) just doesn't do the job well enough.

completely agree wiht op - cannot understand need to have them - you can tell if temperature is high. Have never had one, never needed or wanted one. though I bet the thermometer makers are v happy at the current apparent necessity to have a thermometer if you're a parent!

YANBU.
I have a thermometer, but never use it.
If she (Dd) feels warmer than usual to the touch, is feeling ill and is cold, then she has a temp and I break open the paracetamol.

To me if they feel hot they've probably got a temperature but home thermometers are useless aren't they? What is the point?

Oh I can understand the need really. I think it's a generational thing (jeez that makes me sound ancient)

If thermometers were all the rage or they were being given out free to pregnant Mums when I started my family, I would probably feel the need to own one.

So, if you do have a thermometer why, and when do you use it? (and what do you consider to be a 'high' temperature?) Disclaimer - I know lots of parents of children with various medical conditions need to check temp

They're not useless, we've got an ear one and it's invaluable - instant and doesn't bother the child and easy to use accurately.

I wonder if people who only use their hands tend to send a lot of infectious kids to school because they only spot the really high temperatures, or give a lot of paracetamol to kids who probably aren't actually ill at all?

Personally I own both hands and a thermometer. Hands can be handy (sorry) but the thermometer is much more reliable.

Some people feel reassured by them, or have dc with medical issues which make them liable to febrile convulsions etc, so their parents may feel better being able to monitor it. I have never felt the need, but clearly some people do, and I'm sure they are not all paranoid or helicopter parents or whatever.

I lose stuff all the time anyway- I'm sure I would never remember where I'd put it if I had one.

Mardymare, a temperature is the body's way of dealing with illness or fever and if a child is not ill (even with temp) then does not require keeping off school or medicating! Still I'm not convinced yet.

If I say to doctor "DD has a temperature" he expects figures.

It first hit us when I was quiet ill while pregnant... It wasn't enough for DP to say "she's going hot and cold", he got quite rudely told off at least once for not having quantifiable data

37 degrees is normal.

Not convinced that I need one I mean!

But scotlandr, who trained you to use a thermometer? How accurate is your data? Home thermometers are useless what is the point?

My parents had a thermometer stuck in a corner of the bathroom cabinet, so it's not just a generational thing.

Personally I like to know whether my child's temp is 40.5 or 39.2, even when my hand has clearly told me they're basically hot and have some kind of fever.

You're making a big assumption assuming people like thermometers only so they can medicate - my kids hardly ever have medication for fevers. One reason I like a thermometer is so that I can check whether it's just a 'high' temperature or a (rarer) 'freakily high' one that might make me reach for the calpol. My hands are not good enough to give me that information.

Also, even if I don't act on it in any particular way other than to keep an eye on the dc, I still like to know if they're running a lower (but technically high) temperature when they're ill, and my hands can't really tell me that either because it's too close to normal.

Maybe other people have been issued with better hands than mine!

Guess I'm right then or all the thermometer owners are asleep or checking their DCs temperature!

I would never say to a doctor dc has a fever I would say they feel hot and are unwell. If asked if they have a temperature I always say I don't know but feel hot and no doctor has ever asked why I don't have a thermometer. They either get better or if not see a doctor ( who is trained to check temp accurately ) and are treated.

Or maybe both? Anything for a complete dataset you know...

It really isn't hard to take a temperature with an ear thermometer. It is less accurate underarm but someone still might want to do it.

Not saying it's hard, just pointless.

It would only be pointless if it was wildly inaccurate. It's not. It gives you information. OK you might not want that information yourself, but other people find it useful.

NBU - you can easily feel with your hand if a child is a normal temp, hot or burning up.

Let's face it what is the point knowing if they are 38.0 or 39.0 the treatment is still the same.

I have NEVER taken my children's temperature.

But no one else finds it useful do they? If a doctor examines a child they check their temperature they don't ask the parent for the temp they recorded.

We can only know about our own experience. I've been asked by doctors what a temp is. You haven't. Fine for you. And even if I hadn't been asked I would still like to know for myself. And I like to know whether the temp is generally lower today than yesterday or the same. I'm not sure why this is a problem?