Participle

Taking care of a parent in their old age can be a testing experience for adult children, both in terms of accessing care and the relationship between child and parent. This is compounded if there is a distance between parent and child.

However this article in the Guardian shows that relationships between siblings can too be put under strain when looking after ageing parents.  Siblings can have different ideas about what is right for mum or dad and problems can occur when one child feels they are doing more to help than the other. Rotas and job division depending on how close or far you are from a parent are identified in the article as methods to help adult children help their parents and maintain their relationships with their brothers and sisters at the same time. How else can we help support sibling relationships to help sons and daughters to support their parents? Arguments between siblings whilst caring for their parents can continue long after the parent’s death - there are examples of this in the article. In some cases parents have a strong role in keeping a family unit together and in some families the death of a parent can result in family relationships breaking down. An intervention which strengthens and eases relationships between siblings whilst caring for their parent could bring something positive out of this situation -closer sibling relationships lasting beyond the lifetime of the parent. What’s more, it could make caring for a parent that much easier.