Sisters: Required to Get on Nerves, Right?

Dear Dee:
My sister is driving me nuts and I don't know what I should. what should I do?

I am not really sure what the problem is here ... Sisters are SUPPOSED to drive you nuts. It's the rule .... Especially if she's a younger sister. Wait. That didn't help, did it? Sorry.

Without knowing your age difference and if she's older, younger etc it's hard to help you out. But I can try to give you some generic guidelines for trying to calm the riff between you two.

if you're closer in age, it's really important to set up some boundaries. A lot of the time, siblings don't seem to have them -- especially when it comes to torturing one another. So maybe, you two have rules about always knocking before entering each other's rooms. Or maybe you say your rooms are off limits to each other for the most part. Of course, you can 'lift' the boundaries to have your sis come in and hang out, but as a general rule, have a 'you' zone.

If your sister is getting on your nerves for a particular reason, it's probably a good idea to find out what it is. For instance, little sisters can become more clingy if there's a major change going on in the household -- maybe you're getting ready to go to summer camp and leave her behind or maybe there's tension between your parents. Find out why your sister's bugging you. Likewise, if there isn't anything situational, maybe think of whether or not there's anything going on with YOU that would magnify what your sister's doing in your mind. Talk to her. Work it out. Sisters really are the best type of support groups.

There's always going to be times you get on each other's nerves. That's just a fact. But when times get tough, your sis, if you've treated her right, will always be the one there for you. It's a relationship that defies all odds. And most of all, you need it. So do your best to figure this out. You'll be thankful in the end.