Learn how to work with siblings to ensure a fair distribution of care duties for better senior care.
If you are in charge of the majority of the care for senior parents while your brothers and sisters distance themselves from assisting, you are far from alone. In fact, half of all family caregivers are caring for an aging loved one alone, based on a recent report from AARP.
Understanding why this situation is so prevalent – and what you can do to safeguard your own personal health, which can easily be affected by caring for a senior loved one independently – is critical. Our aging care professionals have the answers to ensure better senior care for your parents and a healthier balance of caregiving responsibilities between you and your siblings.
Why Aren’t My Siblings Helping More With Caring for Our Parents – and What Can I Do About It?
- They are afraid or uncomfortable. For a person who has never provided care for a senior family member, it can be truly overwhelming.
- What you can do: Ask them to follow you for a day to help increase confidence with the particular duties that they are not comfortable with. A bit of hands-on training tends to make a big difference.
- They don’t realize their help is needed. It may be that from the outside looking in, you have everything covered and running smoothly, and you are not in need of their assistance.
- What you can do: Have a truthful, open conversation explaining the stress you are under. Ask your siblings as well as other family members to visit during a time of higher intensity care needs, like when you are making dinner and then helping your parents get ready for bed, and enlist their help to help them to see firsthand how many tasks are involved.
- They don’t know what to do to help. Although it may seem intuitive to simply jump in and meet your parents’ needs, this is not the situation for everybody.
- What you can do: Create a list of specific tasks that you could use assistance with, along with the times and days that help and support are necessary, and ask for volunteers.
How Can Home Care Help?
At Home Matters Caregiving, our professional caregivers are always here to work with you to meet the care needs of senior loved ones with professionalism, compassion, and dedication. Reach out to us at 800-298-5140 and learn how you can ensure better senior care for your parents, as well as a better quality of life for yourself as well. To see if our services are available in your area, visit our Locations page.
