Do you give paracetemol or ibuprofen when your children have temps?

Hi all, my toddler who's 18months has a high temp - keeps going up 39.8 - i've been giving her paracetemol or ibuprofen to bring the temp down which is working (she has other symptoms, moaning endlessly, runny poo, no appetite), however I recently read that kids get a temp for a reason - to kill whatever bacteria is in them, so there's a big question mark over bringing the temp down - but we have always been told, if your child has a temp (esp in babies) bring it down. Do you mums have any opinions on this?