Keeping Notes on Appetite
Write down four things after each session: what time it finished, what your kid ate before it, whether they ate afterwards, and how they seemed. Two weeks of that usually shows the pattern, and it is far more useful to a clinician than a description from memory.
Why write any of this down
Parents describe appetite from memory, and memory over-weights the worst evening. A fortnight of short notes shows whether the bad night is a Tuesday problem, a heat problem, or a coincidence.
It also turns a vague concern into something a clinician can act on in ten minutes.
The four things worth noting
Four fields, thirty seconds, on a phone or the back of the calendar.
| Field | What to write | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Finish time | The actual time it ended | Late finishes explain most refusals on their own |
| Before | What they ate and when | An empty afternoon shows up as a strange evening |
| After | Ate well, ate a little, ate nothing | Three options is enough resolution |
| How they seemed | One word: fine, flat, wired, exhausted | The word you write is often the real signal |
Two weeks is enough
Two weeks covers most of a training cycle and both a home and away fixture. Longer than that and it becomes a habit rather than a diagnostic.
Stop when the pattern is visible, or when two weeks are up, whichever comes first.
- Note it the same evening, not the next morning.
- Keep it to the four fields. More detail does not improve the answer.
- Do not involve your kid in the recording.
- Stop at two weeks.
Reading what you wrote
Most families find the same three patterns, and all of them have a page on this site.
What does the fortnight show?
The bad nights are the late nights
The bad nights follow an empty afternoon
There is no pattern and the notes read badly throughout
When the notes belong in front of a clinician
Take them to an appointment when the pattern shows consistent under-eating, when there is weight or growth change, when energy is dropping between sessions, or when you are simply worried.
A fortnight of dated notes turns a difficult conversation into a specific one. That is the whole purpose of keeping them.
Questions about keeping notes
Should my kid keep the record?
No. This is a parent-side note. Asking a young athlete to track their own eating carries real risks and is not something to start informally.
How long before a pattern shows?
Usually within two weeks, because that covers a full training cycle and a fixture or two.
What if the notes look fine but I am still worried?
Take the worry to a clinician anyway. Notes that look unremarkable do not rule anything out, and a parent's instinct is worth an appointment.
- Feeding Your Child Athlete, Nemours KidsHealth, kidshealth.org.
- How to Help If Your Athlete Has No Appetite After Training, USA Cheer, usacheer.org.