How to Deal With a Sibling

Your family is thrust upon you, period. There is no getting away from growing up with siblings and having to deal with them. Though they can be pains, it is important to know how to deal with a sibling in order to survive youth and beyond.

Instructions

1. Get over it. Some things you can never change like a sibling's annoying habit of believing he is alwyas right or telling your personal life to others when he was sworn to secrecy. Just smile and let him think he is right while knowing you are, and stop telling him things that you don't want out in the open.

2. Compete with a sibling. Sometimes your cross to bear is having a competitive sibling. Deal with this by competing, but you don't have to go overboard with the smack talk or bravado. Being a quiet and humble winner makes you a better person while your sore loser sibling wallows in defeat.

3. Talk things out. When you have an abusive sibling who dashes to fist fighting or yelling, try to diffuse the situation with calm words instead of hitting back. Families are fragile, and sometimes you need to be the bigger person in order to deal with a hot-headed sibling.

4. Use your winning personality to overcome a sibling who is a downer. At family gatherings, when your melodramatic sister starts in on her woe is me diatribe, give her only a short bit of your attention, and then move on to more up beat line of conversation, or a more up beat relative. By coddling your woe be gone sister, you are only feeding into her need for attention.

5. Deal with a sibling who has an addiction with tough love. Addictions are frightening, and they cannot be helped or cured by a family member who picks them up every time they fall. Let him fail on his own, and he may quickly see that kicking his addiction is the only way to survive.

6. Love your sibling through thick and thin. You can't choose your familly, but you should love them because they are your tie to your roots. Avoid holding grudges and failing relationships as they won't help you create lasting bonds of love and reciprocation.

7. Give helpful advice instead telling your sister she is making a good choice. If you think she is falling into another bad situation, tell her straight how you feel. She may not appreciate the truth in the moment, but you will both know that you tried to help when you saw trouble on the horizon. Be careful of becoming too judgementa however, and save your advice for times when she really needs it.