How to Avoid Sibling Feuds While Caregiving

October 28, 2025
| Vitality Living

When it comes to healthy aging, quite honestly, there’s a lot to do. You’re supposed to make sure to keep your body active and your brain engaged all while maintaining your social connections as well. Sure, the benefits to your overall well-being are worth the effort, but retirement is supposed to be a time with less responsibility on your plate, right? Well, it turns out that in senior living you can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. Here’s how programs like our Vivid Life make keeping active, engaged, and connected easy and fun!

Benefits of Healthy Aging

Good things happen when you focus on healthy aging. In addition to feeling better overall, which in and of itself is a win, other benefits of keeping active, engaged, and connected include:

Improved ability to do everyday things
Reduced impact of illness and chronic disease
Enhanced mobility, flexibility, and balance
Improved sleep
Increased energy level
Reduced feelings of depression and stress
Increased feelings of happiness and self-confidence
Reduced risk of cognitive decline
Increased mental adaptability and cognitive reserve
Improved memory recall and problem-solving skills
Improved concentration and attention to detail

How Senior Living Can Help

At home, particularly when living alone, it can be hard to stay as active, engaged, and connected as you’d like. From lack of opportunity to lack of motivation to lack of transportation to mobility challenges, and more, it’s tough, we get it! That’s why we created the Vivid Life program in our senior living communities. It’s composed of three parts: Vibrant Body, Vibrant Brain, and Vibrant Connections. Here’s what each entails:

Vibrant Body – We offer amenities such as a state-of-the-art fitness center, a pool, walking trails, gardening opportunities, and even a dog park to help you stay active. A sample of activities includes:

Walking club – Daily walks at different outdoor locations using pedometers to measure steps.
Yoga – At least once per week for gentle yoga, and once per week for mindful breathing.
Fitness classes – At least two times per week using a variety of hand weights, resistance bands, and circuit-type exercises.
Tai Chi – At least once per week with a live instructor.
Non-traditional exercise – Dancing, gardening, etc. at least two times per week.
Physical games and sports – Golf, putting, bowling, croquet, bocce, and ping pong available daily with organized events one to two times per week.

Vibrant Brain – We offer monthly calendars filled with classes, events, creative arts, and enrichment opportunities to help keep you engaged. A sample of activities includes:

Visiting lecture series – Twice per month with topics such as cultural, historical, local interest, career-oriented, etc.
Creative art series – At least one per week with a theme that runs 3-6 weeks, such as poetry writing, storytelling, painting, digital photography, etc.
Learning series – At least three times per month with an emphasis on learning something new such as foreign language, sign language, technology, hobbies, etc.
Games – At least one time per week and may include poker, bridge, Scrabble, etc.
Mindfulness – A meditation class once per week and gratitude discussion group twice monthly.
Church service – At least once a week through visits by local churches.
Stress reduction – At least once per month class that offers deep breathing exercises, nature walks, music appreciation, spa-type treatments, etc.

Vibrant Connections – We offer resident-led clubs, social events, outings and volunteer opportunities for any interest to help you stay connected. A sample of activities includes:

Outings – At least twice per month and may include going to concerts, art shows, museum visits, theatre productions, etc.
Intergenerational programming – At least once per month and focuses on building relationships between young adults/children and residents.
New resident welcome party – At least once per month to formally introduce all new residents, and includes ice breakers, social games, etc. to encourage connection.
Philanthropic program – At least once per month provide residents the opportunity to give back to the community, such as volunteering for a local food bank or pet shelter.
Resident-led clubs – May include game clubs, professional clubs, common interests, etc. that meet at least monthly.

What’s more, it’s all right outside your door (or transportation is provided offsite) and all in a supportive environment with home maintenance, housekeeping, and restaurant-style dining freeing your time to make it even easier to stay active, engaged, and connected.

Learn more about Vitality Living’s Vivid Life programs. Or find a Vitality Living community near you today to schedule a tour.

Being a family caregiver can be one of life’s most rewarding experiences, offering a chance to reconnect with siblings and show gratitude to parents. However, caring for our parents can bring unique challenges that can strain even close family relationships.

As the holiday season approaches and families spend more time together, understanding how to navigate caregiving dynamics becomes even more important. At Vitality Living, we understand that caring for a loved one is more than just meeting their physical needs. If you’re experiencing tension with your siblings while caring for an aging parent in your home, these strategies can help your family work together more effectively and peacefully.

Why Sibling Conflicts Arise During Caregiving

As a senior caregiver, you might find yourself dealing with unresolved childhood rivalries, disagreements about a parent’s needs, or frustration over unbalanced responsibilities.

The stress of witnessing a parent’s health struggles, combined with busy careers and families of your own, can intensify tensions. Common sources of conflict include disagreements about care decisions, financial concerns, geographical distance, and differences in views of what your parents’ actual needs consist of.

Start with an Honest Assessment

Before emotions run high, create an objective list of your parents or loved ones’ care needs. Ask yourself these questions about whether your parent or loved one needs extra support:

What personal care tasks are they struggling with?
Are they having difficulty with meal preparation?
Do they have trouble remembering to take medications or pay bills?
Is the home relatively clean and clear of clutter?

Make sure to include your parents or loved ones in this conversation. Their input is an essential part of keeping them safe and respecting their wishes.

Not everyone in the family may agree on the level of assistance a parent needs. Consider consulting primary care physicians or arranging for a professional care assessment to provide an objective perspective that all siblings can reference.

Schedule Regular Family Meetings

Open communication is helpful in successfully caring for a loved one. Schedule regular family meetings, either in person or via video calls, to discuss a parent or loved one’s needs, review upcoming appointments, and address concerns before they escalate.

Every sibling should have a chance to voice their thoughts and feelings during these meetings. Understand each person’s comfort level and capabilities to help distribute responsibilities more fairly.

Divide Responsibilities According to Strengths

When caring for your parents or loved ones, recognize that not all siblings can contribute in the same ways. Geographic distance, work schedules, financial constraints, and personal circumstances all play a role in what each person can offer.

Create a shared list of tasks and divide them based on each sibling’s strengths and availability. Siblings who live far away can research home care services, arrange meals for delivery, or cover the cost of housekeeping services.

Keep Communication Lines Open

Prevent minor misunderstandings from becoming major conflicts by maintaining consistent communication. Phone and video calls work best for sensitive conversations, since they reduce the risk of misinterpreting tone in texts or emails.

Don’t place the entire responsibility of updating everyone on the primary family caregiver. Establish a shared system (like a group chat, email thread, or caregiving app) where all siblings can access updates about medical appointments, medication changes, and daily routines.

Plan Ahead for Changing Needs

Although you and your siblings may be managing now, there could be a time when caring for an aging parent in your home or independently becomes unsafe. Begin planning for this possibility while your parents can still express their wishes about future care.

Work together to create a list of resources, including in-home care providers and senior living communities near your parents. Preparing in advance ensures you have a backup care plan if the primary senior caregiver faces their own health crisis or emergency.

Vitality Living offers vibrant senior living communities throughout the Southeast designed to support successful aging. Learn more about our Vivid Life Program or find a community near you to schedule a tour.

When to Seek Outside Help

If your family continues struggling to work together peacefully, don’t hesitate to seek professional assistance. A geriatric care manager can help provide ongoing coordination or guidance, while an elder care mediator can help resolve conflicts and facilitate productive conversations between siblings.

These professionals bring objectivity to emotionally charged situations and can help identify solutions to prioritize your parents’ well-being.

Finding Balance in Family Caregiving

Caring for a loved one alongside your siblings can strengthen family bonds when everyone commits to open communication, mutual respect, and flexibility. You are all working toward the same goal of ensuring your parents’ safety, comfort, and quality of life.

At Vitality Living, we’re here to meet you at whichever stage of the journey you are in. Whether you’re exploring options for the future or need support now, our team is ready to help you find the right solution for your family. Contact us today to learn more about our communities and how we can support you.

Caregiver Support, Family Dynamics, Healthy Living, Senior Living

Vitality Living

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