HOW TO GET YOUR BROTHER TO STOP BEING ANNOYING

This Ask Nikki question comes from Taylor. She writes:

I love him, but my brother won’t stop annoying me. I have sat down and asked him SUPER nicely to leave me alone when I am on my computer, but he will NOT listen. Do you have any anti-brother tips?

My advice:

Hi Taylor! I don’t have a brother, but as you know, I DO have a bratty little sister. And yeah, I love her too…but boy does she drive me NUTS sometimes!

I’m not sure if your brother is younger or older, so I’ll just assume he’s younger, since I know ALL about having an annoying younger sibling!

There are a few things I do when she’s being all up in my space.

1. I go to a different room.

Okay, so I know this is kind of obvious, but hey, it works! There are times when I’m trying to read or whatever in the living room, and she’s all like, “Nikki! Wanna play with me? Wanna braid my hair? Wanna color with me?

OMG it makes me want to SCREAM when she asks me a million questions and doesn’t wait for an answer!!

Part of me wants to tell her to play somewhere else, since I got there first, but it’s just SO much easier to get up and go to my room instead.

2. I tell her we’ll play later.

I think sometimes Brianna just wants my attention (and everyone else’s attention…that girl needs EVERYONE to be looking at her 24/7!)

She’ll bug me when I’m doing stuff because she wants me to stop and focus totally on her. But it can’t always be all about her! I have my own life!

So I’ll say something like, “I need to do stuff online for an hour or so, but if you’re really patient and quiet, I’ll play with you and Miss Penelope at 4:00!”

Then I feel kind of bad for my mom, because she’ll ask her like a million times, “Is it 4:00 yet?!?” But hey, it gives me a break!

3. I give her 10 minutes.

Sometimes Brianna’s SUPER impatient, and she’s not cool with it when I tell her I’ll play with her later. So I’ll say something like, “OK, I can play for 10 minutes now…but then I need time on my computer!”

If I totally focus on her for that time, usually she’s cool about leaving me alone for a bit after.

4. I say, “I was going to ask you to be quiet for 20 minutes, but I bet you couldn’t do it.”

So basically I make it a challenge. Then she’ll be like, “Oh yes I can!” And I’ll say, “No way! I doubt it.”

And she’ll say, “Yeah huh! I can do it!”

And I’ll say, “You think? OK, I’ll make you a bet! I bet you can’t be quiet for 20 whole minutes! If you CAN do it, then I’ll walk to the store and get us some candy!”

So it’s a game and she gets a prize…she LOVES that!

5. I tell my mom.

I don’t like having to do this, but sometimes I have no other choice! Usually once Mom’s involved, Brianna knows it’s serious and backs off.

So that’s my advice for you…find a different space if you can, or pay attention to him for a bit, or turn it into some kind of game. And if all else fails, yell, “Moooooom!”

Anyone else have any advice for Taylor??