Paola Brown was about 3 years old when a neighborhood child came down with measles, and her mother took her over to be exposed. Years later, when Brown had children of her own, she became fearful of infections and responded the way she’d been taught by suppressing the fevers that often accompany common childhood illnesses.
It’s conditioned parental behavior: Your toddler spikes a 102-degree fever, and you reach for fever-reducing medication or find other ways to eliminate discomfort.
