First of all, you need to talk to your partner and tell him how you feel. Sometimes people who are close to family don’t see dysfunction because they’ve grown up with it and it’s second nature to them, so be prepared for him to be surprised at your observations.
Second, don’t put him on the defensive. Try and talk to him in a way that doesn’t back him into a corner and feel like he’s doing something wrong. Try and be objective and explain to him that you’re really surprised at the way his sister behaves with him. Tell him that it seems sometimes like she treats him more like a boyfriend than a brother and give him specific examples like you did with me.
Third, [i]listen[/i] to what he has to say. He’s not going to immediately agree with you. He’s going to have to process this and you’ll probably have to have a series of ongoing conversations about this to explore the subject. Don’t forget that you both bring different points of view to the topic and it’s important to be tolerant in order find a compromise.
I hope that helps — don’t go mad! Just open the conversation.
Let me know how it all goes, and please follow me @AskAprilcom on Twitter and on Facebook at this link: [url][/url]. 😀
