This could be a misconception of mine but I always thought swimmers should be ravenous after swim practice. My son (13) swims for 2-2.5 hours and does not want to eat dinner after practice. He eats about 30 minutes before he leaves for practice but it's not a huge meal. Most days he skips dinner and goes to sleep without eating anything. I am concerned because 1. shouldn't he re-fuel his body after practice? and 2. not sure he is getting enough nutrition to sustain the level of effort that is needed. At the same time I want to trust his body to let him know when and how much he needs to eat. When I ask him he will say he is not hungry. Any advice?
What concerns me about this is it seems to me you are trying to do this under his nose - like, you're trying to trick him to eat.
He's 13, if he's at all intelligent for his age he will be able to answer questions for you to narrow down what's actually going on, and also to understand if you explain why proper nutrition is important, especially to a growing teen.
This isn't like trying to feed a 6-year-old peas.
I don't think anyone's trying to sneak in the food, but the kiddo's just had a fairly heavy workout and is in the midst of adolescence - eating *something*, at least, is not really optional here. I agree - kiddo's parent should sit down with him and say "look, you do have to eat something after practice, before bedtime, but clearly the regular dinner isn't working out right now. Here are some options to try , what do you think?" Nudging kiddo to try different options will probably help get more information.
What concerns me about this is it seems to me you are trying to do this under his nose - like, you're trying to trick him to eat.
He's 13, if he's at all intelligent for his age he will be able to answer questions for you to narrow down what's actually going on, and also to understand if you explain why proper nutrition is important, especially to a growing teen.
This isn't like trying to feed a 6-year-old peas.
I don't think anyone's trying to sneak in the food, but the kiddo's just had a fairly heavy workout and is in the midst of adolescence - eating *something*, at least, is not really optional here. I agree - kiddo's parent should sit down with him and say "look, you do have to eat something after practice, before bedtime, but clearly the regular dinner isn't working out right now. Here are some options to try , what do you think?" Nudging kiddo to try different options will probably help get more information.
