Avoiding Family Feuds

Here are a few tips you can use to try to avoid family feuds over caring for Mom or Dad:

• Plan regular face-to-face family meetings. Include everyone who's part of the caregiving team, including family friends and other close contacts.

• During family meetings, discuss each person's caregiving responsibilities and challenges — and make changes as needed. Be open to compromise and possibilities you hadn't considered on your own.

• If time, distance or other logistical problems are issues for certain family members, consider conference calls or video conferencing. You might also share email updates with the entire family, send updates through Twitter or start a family blog.

• If your family meetings tend to turn into arguments, consider asking a counselor, social worker, mediator or other professional to moderate.