Top 3 Excuses From Siblings Who Don't Help With Caregiving

Unfair as it may seem, even in families of many adult children, one sibling generally becomes the primary caregiver for the aging parents. In many families, such as mine, this person lives the closest to the parents and/or is most suited to the task of caregiver. In my case, it was both. This fact didn't keep my sister, who lived about 50 miles away, from coming to town nearly every weekend to see our parents and help me out. However, in some families, this relatively short distance would be enough of an excuse to keep the "caregiving" efforts of the distant sibling to an occasional, convenient visit. Many caregivers ask how to respond to siblings who, after being directly and distinctly asked for help, either skirt responsibility with excuses, or become outright nasty if they are asked for assistance in a direct manner. Let's look at a few examples and contemplate responses.