Most colds are minor, although they increase the risk of ear infection and other prolonged bacterial infections (bronchitis, walking pneumonia), which is why most doctors will tell you to come in if you are concerned, or if a fever lasts longer than a couple of days, or if your child gets worse after they’ve seemed to get better. Of these complications, ear infections are the most common. About a quarter of kids will have an ear infection by the age of one, and 60 percent by the age of four.9 If
