Sickener! 9 of the worst things your sibling could do to you as a child

If you grew up among siblings who seemed intent on making your life a living hell, you'll know all too well the array of tricks they used to drive you up the effing wall.

From subtle digs to all-out war, most of us spent our childhoods looking over our shoulder, primed for the next attack.

And while the vast majority of us can laugh at their exploits now (and admit we were equally as guilty), at the time the anguish was oh-so-real.

And here are just 9 things they could do like no one else…

1. Hide the remote

We'll be honest, we spent more time as children wrestling our siblings on the sitting room floor for possession of the remote than actually watching TV.

And while carpet burns and gouged skin was hardly a walk in the park, realising your sibling had hidden the remote was a whole different level of torture.

"I'll set the house on fire if you don't tell me where it is."

2. Read your diary

The really devious wouldn't come right out and say they had gotten 12 weeks deep in your diary, but would instead drop hints that have you questioning their moral compass.

Instead of admitting they know the ins and outs of your 'private life', they would allude to random secrets during family meals in order to watch you squirm. And the worst part? You couldn't accuse them of reading your diary, because you'd end up ratting yourself out.

"So, I didn't get any detention this week. What about you?"

3. Repeat everything you said

If they tried it these days, we'd simply stick our headphones in our ears, question their sanity and immerse ourselves in Netflix, but as a child it was a lot harder to handle.

All they had to do was raise their voice slightly, adopt a super annoying tone, and repeat every sentence you said in order to reduce you to a red-faced, shrieking mess.

"Maaaaaaaam, tell him to stop imitating me!"

4. Make your friends laugh at you

This generally only worked if your sibling was older than you and your friends were out to impress, and hell did it hurt.

With just a little encouragement, your mates could be convinced to join in sibling-inspired name-calling or indulge in some mocking, and never did the betrayal run so deep.

"Did you know she still wets the bed at night?"

5. Scare the bejaysus out of you

At some point or another, it's likely you shared a bedroom with your sibling which meant that there were approximately eight unsupervised hours where they could terrify you to their heart's content.

From insisting they could see someone beneath your bed to planting seeds that there was someone lurking in the wardrobe, they knew how to make the most out of your discomfort.

"Now don't freak out, but I know that wardrobe door was closed when we turned off the lights…"

6. Force you into misbehaving

OK, it's not like we weren't able to do this one by ourselves, but there were occasions when we'd have opted for a quiet life and our siblings forced us into doing something which invariably ended in the outbreak of World War 3 in our family home.

Whether it was skipping mass with a sibling and getting caught or lamping a ball over a neighbour's wall 'for the craic', siblings got some kick out of seeing you take the fall.

"Look, there were two of us in it and you're as much to blame as I am."

7. Censor films and TV programmes… for the craic

Sometimes your siblings took on the role of surrogate parents and prevented you from watching things they didn't deem suitable which, in a way, was fair enough.

And then there were the times they simply decided you weren't watching something for no other reason than they said so.

"I know it's only The Simpsons, but you'll probably have nightmares."

8. Tell on you

Ratting you out to your parents was the ultimate betrayal… especially considering the fact you kept schtum about their most recent indiscretion.

Hearing your sins laid bare in front of your parents by a smug sibling totally justified the biggest revenge plot of all time.

"Keep talking, You'll get yours, you sly pig."

9. Excluding you

Your mam may have insisted your older sibling let you tag along with their friends, but the minute you mam was out of sight, you were shoved in a bush so fast your head would spin.

There you were skipping merrily alongside your new pals, and the next you were picking thorns out of your arse and wondering where the hell everyone had gone.

"Helloooo? I don't know how to get home!!"