What is a normal Temperature for a Child?

Answered on 11th January 2016

While we tend to think of 37°C (98.6°F) as normal body temperature, this doesn’t actually apply to everyone. Someone’s normal body temperature will depend on their age, the time of day, where on the body the temperature was taken and their level of activity. For example, temperatures taken from the armpit are usually about 0.5°C lower than core body temperature.

For children, a normal temperature is actually considered to be around 36.4°C (97.4°F).Generally a fever is considered a temperature higher than 37.5°C (99.5°F), but since what is normal can vary, what is actually a fever can be different from person to person. Remember to trust your instincts – you’ll know when your baby is poorly.