diff --git a/changelog.d/733-list-children-fields.changed.md b/changelog.d/733-list-children-fields.changed.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..eee7b8cde
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/733-list-children-fields.changed.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+`list_children` now describes the routing fields it already answers ([#733](https://github.com/ThinkFlowLab/FlyBot/issues/733)): `load` for every child, and `openForMs`/`stalled` for a child with an open turn, so a coordinator can send new work to an idle child instead of learning the shape from the implementation.
diff --git a/docs/subsystems/tree.md b/docs/subsystems/tree.md
index 69f2af53b..a9c06a64a 100644
--- a/docs/subsystems/tree.md
+++ b/docs/subsystems/tree.md
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ A coordinator can see which of its children are busy right now, so it sends a ne
 A count alone cannot tell a long turn from a stuck one: `load: 1` read the same for a turn three seconds in and for one that had been open 47 minutes without consuming its queue.
 
 - The tracker keeps each open turn's start time, so `openFor(id)` answers the age of the **oldest** open turn and `0` when the Bot is idle. An end closes **its own** turn: `index.js` hands the feed's `turnId` to `end(id, turnId)`, because dropping whichever turn was oldest left the *newer* turn's age behind when a later turn ended first (#696). No match — an id never seen, or none at all — still drops exactly one turn, the oldest, so the count cannot drift.
-- Past `STALLED_AFTER_MS` (12 minutes) the coordinator's line says the age instead of just the count — `Work: working (47 min, no turn ended)`, or `Work: busy (2 running, oldest open 47 min)`. `list_children` gains `openForMs` (and `stalled: true` past the threshold) only for a child with a turn open, so an idle child keeps exactly its old shape and every existing reader of `load` keeps a number.
+- Past `STALLED_AFTER_MS` (12 minutes) the coordinator's line says the age instead of just the count — `Work: working (47 min, no turn ended)`, or `Work: busy (2 running, oldest open 47 min)`. `list_children` gains `openForMs` (and `stalled: true` past the threshold) only for a child with a turn open, so an idle child keeps exactly its old shape and every existing reader of `load` keeps a number. The tool's description names those fields too (#733): a model reads the description, not this code, and a coordinator that never learns `stalled` exists cannot route around it.
 - **A hint for routing, never a gate.** The tree plugin cannot see a Bot's inbox, so a legitimately long turn ages too; nothing here refuses, ends or reassigns work. `loadLine`'s third argument is optional, so a caller that only has a count keeps the old line.
 
 ### Model-based clustering (#450 item 2)
diff --git a/plugins/tree/src/tools.js b/plugins/tree/src/tools.js
index 17f5b79d1..f4250e9a8 100644
--- a/plugins/tree/src/tools.js
+++ b/plugins/tree/src/tools.js
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ export function registerTreeTools(fb, tree) {
   return [
     fb.registerTool({
       name: 'list_children',
-      description: 'List your direct child bots (id, name, role). These and your parent are the only bots you can message.',
+      description: 'List your direct child bots (id, name, role, and load: how many turns each is running now). A child with an open turn also carries openForMs, the age of its oldest open turn, and stalled: true once that turn has been open past the stall threshold. These and your parent are the only bots you can message; send new work to an idle child first.',
       parameters: LIST_CHILDREN_SCHEMA,
       visibleTo: inTree,
       async execute(args, { botId }) {
diff --git a/plugins/tree/test/tree.test.js b/plugins/tree/test/tree.test.js
index 3e10e4dc2..d92a6e8d9 100644
--- a/plugins/tree/test/tree.test.js
+++ b/plugins/tree/test/tree.test.js
@@ -1486,6 +1486,31 @@ test('#624: a turn that never ends shows how long it has been open, and load sta
   assert.equal(item.stalled, undefined)
 })
 
+// #733: a model routes on the description, not on the code, so the description must name the
+// fields the tool answers — and the answer must still carry them.
+test('#733: list_children describes the load fields it returns', async () => {
+  let clock = Date.UTC(2026, 9, 22, 6)
+  const m = await setup({ now: () => clock })
+  const { description } = m.tools.get('list_children')
+  for (const field of ['load', 'openForMs', 'stalled']) assert.match(description, new RegExp(`\\b${field}\\b`))
+  // `stalled` is not a synonym for busy: the description says what makes it true.
+  assert.match(description, /stalled: true once[^.]*stall threshold/)
+  const work = await make(m, m.root, 'Work')
+  const writer = await make(m, m.root, 'Writer')
+  m.feed('turn.start', { botId: work, place: 'chat', sessionId: 's', turnId: 't1', turn: 1, time: 1 })
+  clock += 47 * 60_000
+  const children = (await m.call(m.root, 'list_children')).children
+  const busy = children.find(c => c.id === work)
+  assert.equal(busy.load, 1)
+  assert.equal(busy.openForMs, 47 * 60_000)
+  assert.equal(busy.stalled, true)
+  // An idle child keeps the old shape, so the description promises the fields only with a turn open.
+  const idle = children.find(c => c.id === writer)
+  assert.equal(idle.load, 0)
+  assert.equal('openForMs' in idle, false)
+  assert.equal('stalled' in idle, false)
+})
+
 test('#696: two turns open, the later one ends, and the age left is the older turn\'s', async () => {
   let clock = Date.UTC(2026, 9, 22, 7)
   const m = await setup({ now: () => clock })