ER, Urgent Care, Walk-In or 811? Where to Take a Sick Child in Toronto

Where should I take my sick child in Toronto?

If your child has trouble breathing, a stiff neck, a seizure, is unresponsive or unusually drowsy, or is a baby under three months old with a fever, go to the emergency department or call 911. For most other childhood illnesses a same-day or same-week visit with a doctor who knows children is the better first stop, and the rest of this page explains how to tell which situation you are in.

This page follows the American Academy of Pediatrics on when a child needs urgent attention. Dr. Buencamino at Thrive Kids Clinic confirmed that this is the guidance the clinic follows on fever. It is not a tool for diagnosing your child, and it does not replace a conversation with your own doctor.

When should I go straight to the emergency department?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says to seek medical attention right away if a child with a fever looks very ill, is unusually drowsy or is very fussy. It also lists a stiff neck, severe headache, severe sore throat, severe ear pain, breathing difficulty, an unexplained rash, or repeated vomiting or diarrhea as reasons to call right away.

The same guidance applies right away if a child has had a seizure, has a weakened immune system or a heart problem, or has been somewhere very hot such as an overheated car. A temperature that rises above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) repeatedly is also on that list, at any age.

None of these on their own tell you what your child has. They are the specific circumstances that change where you should go and how quickly, which is a different question from what is causing the illness.

My baby is under three months old and has a fever. What should I do?

A baby younger than three months with a fever should be seen urgently, the same day. The American Academy of Pediatrics says to call right away for any child under three months (12 weeks) with a temperature of 38.0 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) or higher, and the Canadian Paediatric Society states plainly that babies younger than three months should be seen urgently.

This is the situation on this page where waiting to see whether it settles is the wrong call. Both the Canadian and the American guidance agree on it without qualification.

What actually counts as a fever?

It depends on how you took the temperature. The Canadian Paediatric Society gives these thresholds: above 37.9 degrees Celsius (100.2 Fahrenheit) taken rectally or in the ear, and above 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit) taken by mouth or under the arm.

Which method to use also depends on age. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends rectal as the most accurate method from birth to five years, with the armpit as an alternative under two and the ear or armpit between two and five. From five years and older, by mouth is the most accurate, with ear or armpit as alternatives.

The fever itself is usually not the danger. How your child looks and behaves matters more than the number on the thermometer.

How many days of fever is too many?

Call your child's doctor if a fever lasts more than 24 hours in a child under two years old, or more than three days (72 hours) in a child two or older. Those are the American Academy of Pediatrics thresholds, and they are the ones this clinic follows.

Duration is not the only trigger. The same guidance says to call if your child still acts sick once the fever comes down, or seems to be getting worse, regardless of how long it has lasted.

What is Health811 and when should I call it?

Health811 is the Government of Ontario's free health advice service, and you reach it by dialling 811. It is the option to use when you are unsure whether your child needs to be seen and you want to talk it through before deciding where to go.

Health811 is not an emergency service. If your child has any of the emergency signs described above, go to the emergency department or call 911 rather than calling 811 first. For the service's current hours, languages and what it can help with, check the official Ontario page linked in the sources below.

What is the difference between a pediatric urgent care clinic and a walk-in clinic?

A walk-in clinic sees patients of all ages for a broad range of general complaints. A pediatric urgent care clinic sees children specifically, which means the clinicians there spend their days assessing childhood illness and the equipment and dosing are set up for smaller patients.

Both are appropriate places to take a sick child, and either is a reasonable choice over the emergency department for an illness that is not an emergency. The practical difference worth weighing is continuity: a clinic that already holds your child's chart, immunisation record and history does not have to start from nothing.

Can my child be seen at Thrive Kids Clinic for a sick visit?

Yes, and you do not need a referral for a sick or urgent visit. Sick visits run on a daily list, so the one thing you have to do is call and ask to be added - you cannot simply arrive and join it.

Sick visits currently run Monday to Thursday: 7am to 8pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and 8am to 7pm on Thursday. There are currently no Friday sick visits, though the clinic is open Friday from 7am to 5pm for booked appointments. Access is generally same-week rather than same-day, though same-day appointments do sometimes come up, so it is worth asking.

The clinic is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Occasionally a weekend clinic runs depending on physician availability, and those dates are announced on our Instagram. Our current opening times are always listed on our hours page, and you can call 416-849-2260 to ask about any day. Thrive Kids Clinic is at 2686 Danforth Avenue in Toronto.

More on how sick visits work is on our pediatric urgent care page, and you can also book an appointment online. For questions about becoming a patient, see pediatricians accepting new patients.

What should I bring?

Bring your child's health card, a list of any medications they take including doses, and their immunisation record if you have it. If your child has been seen recently for the same problem, bring whatever paperwork you were given.

It also helps to write down when the symptoms started and what has changed since. In a busy visit that timeline is often the most useful thing a parent brings, and it is the detail most easily forgotten when you are worried.

A note on what this page is and is not

This page is general information for parents in Toronto, not medical advice about your individual child, and it is not a diagnostic tool. It cannot tell you what your child has or replace an assessment. If you are worried about your child right now, that worry is itself a reason to call your doctor or Health811, or to go to the emergency department.

Sources

American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org, Fever and Your Baby / When to Call the Pediatrician: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/fever/Pages/When-to-Call-the-Pediatrician.aspx - link checked 7 August 2026. Dr. Buencamino confirmed that this is the guidance Thrive Kids Clinic follows on fever.

Canadian Paediatric Society, Caring for Kids, Fever and temperature taking: https://caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/health-conditions-and-treatments/fever_and_temperature_taking - link checked 7 August 2026. Cited here for what counts as a fever by measurement method.

Government of Ontario, Health811: https://www.ontario.ca/health811 - link checked 7 August 2026.

Details of how sick visits work at Thrive Kids Clinic were confirmed in writing with the clinic in August 2026.

Better kids, better families.