This isn’t the first time I’ve reviewed one of Brother Max’s genius products. Dexter still paddles around in the bath with, and sleeps beside Ray (his Bath and Room Thermometer) who handily lets us know when it’s time to turf Dex out of the bath, or fling open a window in his bedroom. But unfortunately Ray can’t tell me if Dexter’s latest strop is because he’s feeling feverish or is simply a result of me denying him a slab of my Fruit & Nut. Nope, this is a job for Ray’s big brother - the Brother Max Non-Contact Digital Thermometer.

I must admit, this isn’t the first time I’ve used a non-contact digital thermometer. We bought one about a year ago when I decided that wrestling with Dexter to obtain an under-the-armpit reading was simply too much like hard work. In fact, I’ve tried every variety of thermometer going - including those fiddly forehead strips that have recently come under fire for only indicating skin, rather than the body temperature, and the in-the-ear type that saw Dexter reenacting moves he’d seen on one of daddy’s action films. Let’s face it, kids hate having their temperature read - a situation worsened only still by the fact you’re already mentally rushing to A&E. Non-contact is definitely the way to go if you have a baby Rambo on your hands!

The trouble is, my usual non-contact thermometer (which shall remain nameless) is utterly rubbish. I’d always suggest you repeat any reading at least three times to ensure a semblance of accuracy. Of course, if these readings differ by 0.1º or 0.2º, you wouldn’t be massively concerned and should just take the average. But my previous thermometer would often return three wildly different readings in the space of a minute. After a few months I simply didn’t trust it and demoted it to the back of the medicine cabinet where it languishes with out-of-date slimming pills and herbal concoctions to control stress.

When Brother Max got in touch with an offer to review their non-contact offering - I was intrigued. Would I end up writing a similarly disparaging review, or would it restore my faith in a point-and-shoot thermometer…? Well…

It’s fabulous.

Okay, it’s a funny looking thermometer. It’s comfy to hold, but I must admit I wasn’t quite sure which bit to aim at Dexter’s head at first. It’s also a curious decision to have the LCD display on the underside of the thermometer rather than the top - surely for ease of reading, it would have been better to have switched this around? But there is simply no arguing with the results.

Each time I took Dexter’s temperature, the reading remained consistent. I’m really pleased to see this and am far more inclined to trust it as a result. This should be enough in itself to buy this thermometer, but there’s more…

So, other than accuracy, what’s so great about it?

• Your child doesn’t need to have any contact with the thermometer at all
• It has a mute button so you read baby’s temperature whilst they are asleep without disturbing them
• Takes temperature in just 1 second
• There’s a traffic light system for ease of reference (red, orange or green to indicate if the temperature is in the normal, raised, or high range)
• Memory stores the last 19 readings so it’s easy to refer back to
• LCD display has a back light for easy reading in limited light
• You can also measure the ambient temperature of a room which is great for adjusting nursery temperature in the event of a fever

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this product to my friends, I’d insist on them buying it. In fact, I think Santa might be busy wrapping a few of these up on my behalf this Christmas.

The Brother Max Non-Contact Digital Thermometer is now available in Boots for a very reasonable £39.99. For further information and to view more innovative parenting solutions from Brother Max, you can visit the website or keep up to date on Twitter and Facebook.