Behaviour tracker: keep a simple log of changes in your mum or dad
You have noticed something, and you cannot quite put your finger on it. This free tracker turns that feeling into a page a GP or public health nurse can read: a mark a day for sleep, eating, getting about, memory, mood, daily tasks and nights, and a line for anything new. It saves on this device and prints on one A4 sheet.
The short version. Once a day for two to four weeks, mark how your mum or dad was in each area compared with what is usual for them: usual, a bit different or very different, with a line of notes for anything new. Then bring the log to the GP or public health nurse. Before a GP visit, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland suggests making a note of the changes you have noticed, when they happen and how often.1 The log is for slow change only: sudden confusion, a fall with an injury, sudden chest pain or signs of a stroke need help now, not a note.
Don’t wait, get help now
This tracker is for changes that build up over days and weeks. It is never for an emergency. Stop logging and get help if your parent has any of these.
- Signs of a stroke. Think FAST: their Face has dropped on one side, they cannot lift both Arms and keep them raised, or their Speech is slurred or hard to understand. It is Time to call 112 or 999 immediately and ask for an ambulance.2
- Sudden chest pain that spreads to the arms, back, neck or jaw, makes the chest feel tight or heavy, started with shortness of breath, sweating and feeling or being sick, or lasts more than 15 minutes: call 112 or 999.3
- Sudden confusion. The HSE lists someone who is unwell and has become confused and agitated among the reasons to go to an emergency department.4 Call 112 or 999, or go to an emergency department, if they are confused and disorientated, drowsy and hard to wake, or have had an infection and are now acting confused, not making sense or not their usual self.5,6
- A fall with a knock to the head. Call 112 or 999 if they were knocked out and have not woken up, cannot stay awake or keep their eyes open, have a fit, have problems with their vision, walking, balance, understanding, speaking or writing, or have numbness or weakness in part of the body. Go to an emergency department if they were knocked out but woke up, have been sick since, have a headache that painkillers do not ease, are behaving differently or having trouble with memory or thinking, or take a blood thinner such as warfarin.7
- A fall where they are hurt or cannot get up. Call 112 or 999 if someone is seriously injured and their life is at risk, and the HSE lists being unable to stand among the reasons to go to an emergency department.8,4 Get help first; write it in the log afterwards.
Worried, but it is not an emergency? If they have an infection and are feeling or acting differently from normal, the HSE says to contact a GP or GP out of hours urgently.6 For an injury that is not life-threatening, the HSE points to an injury unit, your GP or a pharmacist.8
112 and 999 are free from any phone.8
Your weekly log
Fill in a column a day, ideally at the same time each evening. Mark each area against what is usual for your parent, not against how they were years ago. If you did not see, leave the box empty. Tap a box to choose.
- Usual for them
- A bit different
- Very different
- Times up to the toilet at night
| Area |
|---|
Anything new or unusual
What you saw, in plain words: “asked three times what day it was” says more than “confused”. Note any fall or near-miss, and any new medicine or change of dose on the day it happens.
This log is for slow change. Signs of a stroke (face dropped on one side, arm weakness, slurred speech), sudden chest pain, sudden confusion, or a fall where they are hurt or cannot get up need help now, not a note: in an emergency call 112 or 999. After a knock to the head, check the HSE’s head injury advice at hse.ie.
Free tracker and guide: smartcareliving.ie/family-advice/behaviour-tracker
This deletes every mark and note, in all four weeks, from this device. It cannot be undone. Print anything you want to keep first.
This stays on this device only. Your marks and notes are saved in this browser so they are here when you come back. Nothing you enter in the tracker is sent to SmartCare Living or anyone else. Some browsers delete saved data from a site you have not visited for a week or so, so print each week as you finish it. On a shared computer, use Clear everything when you are done.
Why does keeping a log help the GP?
Change in an older parent rarely arrives as one clear event. It comes as a run of small things: a skipped dinner, a second nap, a question asked twice. On the day of the appointment the GP sees a short stretch of what may be a good morning, and you are left saying she has not been herself, which is true and hard for anyone to act on.
A log replaces that with specifics. Before a GP visit, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland suggests making a note of the changes you have noticed, and perhaps keeping a diary of examples: what is worrying you, when it happens and how often.1 The HSE says it can help to bring someone to the appointment who can describe the problems.9 A page with a mark for every day does part of that job even when you cannot be in the room.
It also keeps everyone out of the business of guessing causes, which is the GP’s job and not yours. The HSE says not to try to diagnose the cause of memory loss yourself, and that dementia is not the only cause of memory difficulties: depression, stress, medicines or other health problems can cause them too.9,10 What the GP needs from you is what you saw. Write “asked three times what day it was”, not “confused”.
If you and your brothers or sisters take turns calling in, one shared log is worth more than three impressions. Print a blank sheet for the fridge door and whoever is there that day fills in the column.
What should you track?
Eight areas, each marked against what is usual for your mum or dad: usual for them, a bit different or very different. If you are unsure, choose a bit different and write a line in the notes. An empty box means you did not see, not that all was well.
- Sleep, day and night
- Napping more during the day, going to bed much earlier, lying on in the morning, awake or up and about at night.
- Eating and drinking
- Meals skipped or left half-eaten, a fridge emptier or fuller than it should be, fewer cups of tea. The HSE notes that people aged 65 and over are more at risk of dehydration.5
- Getting about
- Holding onto the furniture, slower on the stairs, a near-miss, or a fall. Log every fall, even one where they got straight back up.
- Memory and confusion
- Repeating a question or a story, forgetting recent events, losing track of the day, getting muddled somewhere familiar. These are among the early signs the Alzheimer Society of Ireland lists.1
- Mood and behaviour
- Low, worried, irritable or withdrawn, or losing interest in things they used to enjoy. The Alzheimer Society lists changes in mood or behaviour and a loss of interest in hobbies among its early signs too.1
- Managing daily tasks
- Washing, dressing, cooking, the post, bills, the bins, tablets. Something they always managed that has started to slide.
- Toilet trips at night
- The number of times they were up, if you know it. If you do not, mark it “not sure” rather than guess.
- Anything new or unusual
- A new tablet or a change of dose, a bump or a bruise, a missed appointment, a bereavement, an unusually good day. Write a change of medicine down on the day it happens: the HSE lists medicines among the possible causes of both memory difficulties and unexplained weight loss.10,11
The night-time rows are the hardest to fill in honestly, because nobody is there at three in the morning, and a parent asked over the phone may well say they slept grand. That is the part of this log that SmartGuardian, the system we install, records on its own: time in bed, hours of movement and trips to the bathroom at night, compared week against week, with nothing to wear and no video. Like this tracker, it reports what changed, not what it means. That stays a conversation for you, your parent and their GP.
How long should you keep the log?
Two to four weeks suits most families. There is no official rule; this is our suggestion. One week can be thrown by a heavy cold or a lovely visit from the grandchildren. Two to four weeks is long enough to tell a blip from a trend, and short enough that you keep it up.
Do not let the log hold up an appointment. If you are already worried, book the GP now and bring whatever you have. The HSE says to contact a GP if you are worried about an older relative who is becoming forgetful,9 and the Alzheimer Society of Ireland says that if memory is the worry, talk to a GP without delay.1
Keep the habit small: the same time each day, a minute or two. Some families keep going after the appointment, to see whether a new tablet or a bit more help at home is making a difference.
What patterns matter most?
- The direction over weeks, not one bad day. Everyone has an off day. A row that goes from mostly ✓ in week one to mostly ~ by week three says more than any single entry.
- Changes that arrive together. Several rows shifting in the same week is worth pointing out, because different changes can share one cause. As an example, the HSE lists both needing to pee more often than usual and, in older people, changes in behaviour such as severe confusion or agitation among the symptoms of a urinary tract infection, and says to contact a GP if an older person you care for may have one.12 You do not need to know what links the changes. The GP does.
- How fast it is happening. Slow drift over weeks is what the log is for. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland says to see the GP if memory has changed significantly or rapidly.1 A change over hours or a day or two belongs in the Don’t wait box, not the log.
- Weight and appetite. The HSE says the continued, unintentional loss of more than 5% of body weight over 6 to 12 months is often a cause for concern, and to contact your GP if you do not know the cause of weight loss.11 A looser waistband or watch strap is worth a line in the notes.
- What happened just before. A new medicine, a fall, an infection, a bereavement or a stay in hospital. The timing is part of the picture, so note it on the day.
When should you not wait for the log?
Whenever the change is sudden, or someone is hurt. A page of neat marks can make it feel as though everything should wait for the appointment. It should not. Everything in the Don’t wait, get help now box needs help straight away: signs of a stroke, sudden chest pain, sudden confusion, a knock to the head with any of the signs listed there, and a fall where they are hurt or cannot get up. The box gives the HSE’s advice for each, with links.
Some things in between need a call today rather than in a fortnight. If your parent has an infection and is feeling or acting differently from normal, the HSE says to contact a GP or GP out of hours urgently.6 And once the urgent thing has been dealt with, put it in the log. A fall, a trip to the emergency department or a new prescription is exactly the context the GP will want next time.
Questions families ask
What is a behaviour tracker for an older parent?
A simple daily record of the changes you notice in your mum or dad, kept for a few weeks. You mark each area, such as sleep, eating and drinking, getting about, memory, mood, daily tasks and trips to the toilet at night, as usual for them, a bit different or very different, and add a line about anything new. It gives the GP or public health nurse a clear picture of what changed, when and how often. It is for gradual change, not emergencies.
How long should I keep the log before going to the GP?
Two to four weeks is usually enough to tell a bad day from a pattern. That is our suggestion, not an official rule, and it should never delay an appointment. If you are already worried, book the GP now and bring what you have. The HSE says to contact a GP if you are worried about an older relative who is becoming forgetful.
What should I write in the notes?
What you saw, in plain words, with the day and the time if you know it. “Asked three times what day it was” or “left half her dinner and said she wasn’t hungry” is more use to a GP than “confused” or “not eating”. Note any fall or near-miss, even if they got straight back up, and any new medicine or change of dose on the day it happened.
What if the change is sudden?
Then get help rather than logging it, because the tracker is for slow change. The HSE says to call 112 or 999 immediately for signs of a stroke, such as a face dropped on one side, arm weakness or slurred speech. It also says to call 112 or 999, or go to an emergency department, if someone is confused and disorientated, or drowsy and hard to wake. Sudden chest pain, a fall where they are hurt or cannot get up, and some head injuries need help straight away too.
Who should I show the log to?
Your parent’s GP, and the public health nurse if one is involved. Bring it to the appointment, or go with your parent if they are happy for you to: the HSE says it can help to bring someone who can describe the problems. Talk to your parent about the log before you start. It is a record of their life, and it works best when they know about it.
Is what I type into the tracker private?
Yes. Your marks and notes are saved in this browser, on this device, and are never sent to SmartCare Living or anyone else. They stay until you press Clear everything or clear your browser’s data, although some browsers delete saved data from a site you have not visited for a week or so, so print each week as you finish it. On a shared or work computer, clear the log when you are done, or use the printed sheet instead.
Can I print it or fill it in by hand?
Yes. Print this week gives you the current week, with your marks and notes, on one A4 page. Print a blank sheet gives you an empty one to fill in by hand, which suits a fridge door or a family who take turns calling in.
More on changes in a parent
The tracker’s companions in the Behaviour Change hub.
Sources
Every statement on this page about when to get help comes from the HSE, or from the Alzheimer Society of Ireland for memory. All links checked on 30 September 2026.
- Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Signs and symptoms (sections “When should you go to the GP?” and “Tips when visiting the GP”)
- HSE, Stroke: symptoms (the FAST test)
- HSE, Chest pain
- HSE, The emergency department (ED): when to go
- HSE, Dehydration
- HSE, Sepsis: symptoms in adults
- HSE, Head injury and concussion
- HSE, Emergency care for adults: when to call 112 or 999
- HSE, Memory loss (amnesia)
- HSE, Alzheimer's disease: when to contact a GP
- HSE, Unintentional weight loss
- HSE, Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
This page is general information for families, not medical advice, and the tracker is a notebook, not a medical device. It does not assess anyone or tell you what a change means. Always talk to your parent’s GP about their health. In an emergency, call 112 or 999.
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