The doctor tells you that a fever is the body's way to fight off an infection or illness. But when your baby has a fever, logic goes out the window and you get the baby Tylenol or Motrin out and start fretting.

It was reassuring to read in The New York Times that many parents have a similar fear about fever in children and that fever in most cases don't cause harm. Dr. Perri Klass sums it up nicely:

As a pediatrician, I know fever is a signal that the immune system is working well. And as a parent, I know there is something primal and frightening about a feverish child in the night.

I can't count the times I've called J.'s pediatrician, sounding frantic about his fever. My concerns are compounded by the fact that I'm wary about giving J. too much medicine. Dr. Klass points to a study by The Journal of the American Medical Association, which found that many over-the-counter medications for children are not clearly labeled and some do not provide proper dosing instruments.

Add that to a parent's worries, and it can keep you up at nights.

Fever can indeed be scary, and any fever in an infant younger than 3 months is cause for major concern because of the risk of serious bacterial infections. But in general, in older children who do not look very distressed, fever is positive evidence of an active immune system, revved up and helping an array of immunological processes work more effectively.

Of course, that may not be reassuring to a parent whose child’s temperature is spiking at midnight. (Fevers tend to go up in the late afternoon and evening, as do normal body temperatures.)

J. has been through several bouts of fever, and with every new case, I'm a little more sane.

What has your experience been like? Do you still freak out every time your kid has a fever?