My sister-in-law is behaving strangely

Dear Diana,
I recently got married and my husband is loving and caring. My in-laws, too, are pretty cool. The only irritant in the house is my teenage sister-in-law who somewhat doesn't seem to approve of me. The worst part is she doesn't even try to conceal her disdain for me. Every time I try to break the ice, she turns obnoxious and doesn't respond at all. I don't know what her problem is. Even my husband doesn't have a clue. But I just hate the environment she creates at home. I'd love to strike a friendship with her as she's quite younger to me but all my attempts have been futile. What should I do?
-u00a0Nandini


Illustration/ Satish Acharya

Dear Nandini,
As your sister-in-law is young, she was used to being the baby of the house with everyone pandering to her whims and fancies. Now your presence in the house is affecting her which is making her behave in such a manner. There is no reason for her to act in such an atrocious way. She has her rightful place and so do you. She perhaps feels that she has to vie for the attention of her brother and parents with you around. As she is in no mood to listen, just let her be. Be nice to her but at the same time don't overdo it. If you react, she will do more. At the moment she is looking for an altercation and confrontation which you should avoid at any cost. When she hopefully realises that she is not going to get anywhere with her stance, she will have to change her attitude. So just be cool with lots of patience.