How to Deal With an Abusive Sibling

Having an abusive sibling can make your life a constant living hell. You may feel fearful at all times of setting the sibling off and getting targeted for a vicious attack. Although siblings fight, an abusive sibling takes it a step further by hitting, biting, kicking or verbally attacking a sister or brother. To protect yourself, you need to learn how to deal with an abusive sibling.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Try to reason with the sibling first. He may not realize that the picking on you is going too far. Tell him he has to stop or you'll let someone know what he's doing to you.
2. Tell your parents. An abusive sibling may threaten to make things worse for you if you tell your parents. Don’t listen to her. Your parents need to know what's going on so they can help protect you and punish the sibling.
3. Get a therapist to intervene. Family therapy may prove helpful for a kid who's abused by a sibling. A therapist can get to the psychological root of the violence.
4. Fight back. If no one else does anything to help stop the abuse, you need to learn to stand up for yourself. Take a self defense course and don’t back down when your sibling launches another attack.

Tips & Warnings

• If you feel you are in a very dangerous situation with your sibling, call 911 immediately. Authorities can restrain your sibling until your parents arrive.
• If you don’t know where to turn for help in dealing with an abusive sibling, go to your school’s guidance counselor. He can intervene on your behalf and make sure the abuse stops.