People with little brothers will know exactly what I mean when I say they are the worst freak of nature ever to be created.

Ok, so maybe they’re not that bad all the time, sometimes they even border on ‘nice’ depending on the mood you’re in, but constant smart arse remarks and attempts to start an argument really do begin to grate on the nerves after a while.

“How can we get rid of them?!” I hear you cry. The answer is of course, we can’t, and I’m sure we would be lost without them…well maybe. Instead, Pupiline brings you another guide to survive the gruesome world of little brothers.

If you’re like me, your little brother is nearly as big as you, so often getting in a fight is not necessarily a guaranteed win, embarrassing or what?!

I’ve found the best way to deal with my little brother’s insistence that fighting will boost his ego is to let him hit me a couple of times and play along. That way, he will feel he has won, his hungry ego will be satisfied, and I am free to carry on listening to my music at the expense of a couple of mild bruises. However, if you are a bloke, you may get a tad cheesed off with this, so a persuasive poke in the ribs may help, just don't smack him about the face ;)

Alternatively, you could stay out of his way and let him start on your Dad instead, as he’s probably less likely to win which should bring him down a peg or two.

If your brother is getting to the stage where play fighting is not as satisfying, you probably need to have a word with your parents. Messing about is fair enough, but you shouldn’t have to put up with real violence. Again, stay out of his way and let him sort things out with your parents who have the power to ban the computer or ground him if he gets too out of control.

Every time my boyfriend comes over, my little brother goes into ‘cute’ mode, and consequently I am left on my own for half an hour while they play on the computer together. Unfortunately, I am yet to find a solution for the disappearing boyfriend problem. My best advice would be to try and explain to your brother that its good that he likes your boyfriend or girlfriend and gets on well with them, but you would like to see them at some point too. On the other hand, and if you’re in a good mood, you could always let them play for a while as it is kind of sweet.

Correcting you and taking the piss out of your every utterance is just one more way of boosting his ego and getting one up on his older brother or sister. To combat this, the only thing you can do is cultivate a disinterested smile, which you present to the most annoying of his remarks. Letting him know that he is getting to you is the worst thing you can do, so simply ignore him. Another tactic is to laugh with him, make it into a joke and he will have nothing else to go on about

So maybe this might be beneath some people’s little brothers now, others find it’s just another thing to add to the list of annoying and cheeky things their little brother does. For the unfortunate big brothers and sisters in the world, it doesn’t stop at telling mum. This comment from a little brother can stretch to boyfriends and girlfriends, best mates, next door neighbours, shop keepers and even teachers, which ends up in huge embarassment. The obvious right to this wrong would be NEVER tell your little brother anything that shouldn’t be heard by certain people, even if he has made a particularly convincing act of being grown up and concerned about your life. Play it safe ;)

Nose pegs at the ready; it’s time to step within a metre of your little brother. Why won’t they wash?! A little brother’s aversion to water is something that really can’t be helped, many scientists and general clever people have spent years researching this, and it is still one of mans great unsolved mysteries ;)

If you’re an older brother (or sister perhaps) you’ll probably remember going through the same kind of faze yourself. Telling your little brother that he really ought to have a wash will have no effect, so get on his nerves and tell him that he’ll never get a girlfriend smelling like that ...hehe!

Aren’t only girls supposed to have mood swings? No definitely not, little brothers have hormones too, sometimes more than girls, so as their older brother or sister you will be likely to suffer from their moods more than anyone.

You’ll know from experience that growing up can be hard to do, so give him your support so he has no reason to take his anger out on you. Your little brother might be jealous of you because he feels you get more attention being the oldest, so encourage him to do his best at what he is good at, and show him that your parents treat you equally really.