Dear Coleen. My husband and I, plus our two-year-old son, are going to stay with my mother-in-law for a few days over Christmas. Normally I’d look forward to this but, this year, his sister will be there, which I know won’t make for a happy holiday.
She’s 23, so 10 years younger than my husband, and she’s a brat. To be fair, I’ve never had a run-in with her – she’s always been friendly to me – but she’s vile to her mum and to my husband. It’s like her emotional development stalled somewhere around 15 – she’s selfish, needy, throws tantrums, constantly starts arguments and demands money and attention.
Sadly, her dad isn’t around to help parent her, as he died a few years ago, so it’s been up to her mum and my husband to be there. They do everything for her, but she treats them with so little respect. The last time she was at her mum’s – before going travelling for eight months – she hooked up with a random guy in a pub, got off her head on drugs, lost her phone and ended up at the police station. I felt so sorry for my mother-in-law who was in tears. She also screamed at my husband that he wasn’t her dad and never to interfere again.
It really upsets me that she’s so awful to people I love but, so far, I’ve stayed out of it. How should I cope this Christmas if things kick off?. Coleen says. From the outside, it looks like maybe she’s been spoiled or overindulged by her mum and brother, who are probably overcompensating for her dad not being around.
