Q&A for How to Deal With Little Sisters

That's up to you to decide—in some cases, the best option might be to disconnect if you feel that it's so damaging to you and your own wellbeing. Each situation really depends on the degree that you can tolerate your sibling's behavior. If they're still being selfish and inconsiderate after you've made efforts to be nice and gentle, you may need to re-evaluate the relationship.

She's probably bored, or she just admires you and wants to be around you. Try giving her something to do. If she just wants to hang out with you, make a deal with her, like you'll play a game with her for 30 minutes if she'll leave you alone for 30 minutes after that.

Calm yourself by breathing and talk to her about it later. Make sure not to retaliate; just think of something different, or walk away.

Maybe she isn't feeling like she's getting enough attention. Set aside a time each day to do something with her, like coloring or playing a game. Do your best to be patient with her.

Tell your parent or guardian. If they do not listen call the police. If someone is sexually harassing you, then they are breaking the law.

Walk away and calm down. Don't replay in your brain what she did wrong. Think about how much you do love her and about how sad she is if she's really sorry. Remember that you'll BOTH feel better once you've accepted her apology.

If she's just trying to make you mad, ignore her. If she's obviously bothering you because she wants your attention, agree to hang out with her for a while if she will give you some space afterwards.

Sometimes it feels like our siblings are stupid, when really they are just younger or less mature than us and just haven't learned something yet. Sometimes you need to do something with them that both you and they can understand and enjoy. Parents give us rules to protect us and train us. If you don't understand why you have a certain rule, calmly ask your parent(s) to explain it to you.

Ask her politely to stop what she's doing. If he continues, either ignore her or tell an adult. If she sees that she's bothering you, she'll keep doing what she's doing, so sometimes just ignoring it is the best option.

Instead of getting mad at her, or at your parents, when she cries, try to be kind and comforting, and tell your parents honestly that you aren't the cause of her sadness. Your parents, seeing you being kind, will realize that you really aren't causing the sadness. And for her crying, tell her patiently, "[her name], I will be here for you when you need me. You don't need to cry."

Disciplining her is not your job unless you are her legal guardian. If she bothers you, calmly tell your parents or another adult in authority and let them deal with it. Putting some space between you and her can also be helpful.

Tell her very firmly to leave you alone. It might help if you avoid laying about in places where she can climb on you. If you can, shut yourself in your room to get some privacy. If all else fails, tell an adult.

Try to take deep breaths, or just walk away and go into a different room. Lock the door behind you so she can't follow you. You can also try having a calm conversation with your sister about why we don't hit people ("You wouldn't like it if I did that to you, and we must always treat others the way we want to be treated..." etc.), or ask your parents to talk to her.

If your sister is young, she probably just wants your attention. Try to be nice to her, and play with her. It works best with toys that she likes. If she is older, talk to your parents about this.

You could just ask her to stop and, if she doesn't, then tell your parents.

Talk to your parents about how her behavior is affecting you, and they should be able to help you.

Calmly walk a way and tell your parents. Let them deal with it. Never get violent back. If she is grabbing you, try to get loose by tickling her, then go tell a parent.

Remind her she will go through the same thing soon enough, so her mocking you is just a foolish thing to do.

Try having some empathy and compassion for your little sister. She probably isn't trying to embarrass you on purpose and may need your understanding and support. You can always talk to her at home about her behavior and how it makes you feel.

If you share a room with her, ask her keep it down when you're trying to sleep, or try wearing earbuds. If you don't share a room with her, close your door. Either way, you can also ask your parents to intervene, because it's unhealthy for you to be continually losing sleep.

Tell your parents calmly when she is not blaming you, and ask what you should do about it, or talk to your sister about it.

Tell your parents. Animal abuse is very serious. If she denies doing it when your parents are around, try to record her so you have proof.

You could ask them politely if they could be a little quieter. You could also give them something quiet to play with or distract them with.

Rule #1: Don't be rude back to her EVER. It just makes the problem worse. Ignore her, and after she is done with her tantrum or whatever, talk to her calmly about what she did wrong, and/or get your parents involved.

My advice is to talk to your parents about this situation. Tell them that you feel like you're not getting enough time and attention from them.

Talk to your parents. Talk to her, keep trying to do these good things.

Calmly tell your parents your side of the story. If they're really angry, wait until they've calmed down to tell them. If they still punish you, just accept the punishment, because they'll only get more upset if you try to fight with them. Have a conversation with your sister about why it's wrong to lie, and how she wouldn't like it if someone treated her that way.

Little kids don't understand sarcasm or exaggeration yet. When you're talking to her, try to say exactly what you mean and nothing more or less. This will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.

I have a petty sister. Basically what I do is, when she wants attention and tries to bother me, I just say something like, "It's not your problem," or, "Why do you care?" This sort of gives you the upper hand and shows that whatever she's saying doesn't bother you.

Ignore her. And if she's the type that always tries to act older than she is, try telling her that she's being immature when she's bothering you. That might make her stop doing whatever she's doing.