Getting my sister to zip her jacket up
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Hi peeps, I'm new to this forum. I am a 18yr old girl who is also a guardian for my little 7yr old sister as my parents work most of the time. I am really close with my sister, she is so loving, caring and affectionate and really likes to sit on my knee lots and give hugs and cuddles etc but I have one problem which she argues me on and it's one that is worrying me especially with winter fast approaching. That problem is, she just will not zip up her jacket, if its raining then I have to do it myself in order to avoid her refusing. At school she quite happily zips up but at home it's a different story, our parents have tried talking to her to explain why we want it zipped but she just takes the huff.
At 7 she is old enough to
At 7 she is old enough to suffer the consequences of her choice. If she runs around a lot, she might be one of those hot blooded types who's always hot. I really wouldn't worry about it much. Stop making it a battle and turn this over to your parents who are also HER parents. You stay in the sister role. Sounds like you will need each other throughout life.
Our parents are not keen on
Our parents are not keen on the natural consequences route as she is really prone to getting lots of colds and sick bugs.
Colds and Flu are not caused by being cold or wet.
She is no more apt to get sick if her jacket is zipped up or not. Google "does getting cold cause a cold" and you can research it yourself.
Let her be - if she gets cold she will zip up. There is no sense in turning this into a battle of wills.
@notsurehowtodeal, I wish I
@notsurehowtodeal, I wish I could but my parents hold me responsible for keeping my sister warm and safe. Its my parents that are wanting it zipped too, they just want her protected from the cold weather.
Your parents are slackers.
Your parents are slackers. Period. Please tell me you are going away to college and have a life of your own. I watched my daughter's friend get stuck with 3 younger siblings through high school and they used so many head games to keep her the babysitter. She's a hot mess now. Don't let that happen to you. Nutrition and sleep have a lot more to do with staying healthy than zipping up your coat.
Tell your parents that she
Tell your parents that she needs an earlier beditme, that if she acts like she is 5, she gets treated like she is 5.
@STaround, she goes to bed at
@STaround, she goes to bed at half 8 and @Survivingstephell, no, I am going to get a job which will work around my babysitting duties :).
Take away TV priviledges
You need some mechanism to make her listen to you. If you were an outside babysitter you could quit. Tell your parents, you need to be able to enforce rules.
How though because everytime
How though because everytime I ask her to zip her jacket up she just says "no, if you want it zipped then you do it"
Then zip it for her!
Then zip it for her!
It's not like she's refusing to wear a coat at all. At some point she will zip her own coat or she'll freeze.
Even though she can do it
Even though she can do it herself?
Consequences
You need to get your parents to back you up. If she gives you lip now, it will get worse. Tell your parents, you need authority to set rules. There must be something you can take away to motivate her.