Due to the toxic risks of mercury, digital thermometers have replaced the glass thermometers you may have grown up with. In fact, if you have a mercury thermometer, get rid of it, advises the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). But don't just throw it away. Your doctor or local health department can tell you how to dispose of it properly.

Digital thermometers are easy to read and they don't expose your baby to the mercury that's in a glass thermometer, which is dangerous if the thermometer breaks. Get a digital thermometer that can be used rectally and orally (for later on). You can also take a baby's temperature by mouth, by ear, on the forehead, or under the arm, but the AAP considers rectal readings to be the most precise way to take a temperature in infants and children younger than 3. (With the model of forehead thermometer we tested, which required pressing a button and rolling the thermometer over a child's forehead, the results weren't precise.) After your baby's first birthday, your pediatrician may allow you to use a different temperature-taking method, so be sure to ask what's acceptable at that point, if you want to switch.

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