This sounds like a poorly parented child.

This etiquette column entry piqued my interest - the advice/answer wasn't exactly what I was expecting...

Dear Prudence,

I have been with my wonderful boyfriend for two years. I have good expectations as to the direction our relationship will go. My problem is not with him, but his 6-year-old niece. I believe the little girl has a crush on him. My reason for thinking this? She is extremely rude to me. I have been informed by her that I have a "huge bum," I smell bad, that I'm an "idiot" ... I'm sure you get the picture. I have ignored the insults and name-calling for some time now; she is, after all, a child. But now things have progressed.

On a recent outing I was repeatedly shoved aside by this kid, who, while shoving, loudly proclaimed that it would be she, not me, holding his hand. When it came time to be seated at a restaurant, she gave me a shove and loudly declared that she would sit next to him, not me. Suggestions by her parents that he sit in the middle were ignored. There were comments made to my boyfriend by the kid that later in the evening he should bring me home and come back by himself!

He finally made the astute observation that he thinks she gets jealous when I am around. Well, duh. We agreed that he would talk to his sister about the problem. Her answer was that I need to "develop a thicker skin." My boyfriend thinks talking to his niece will embarrass her, because "she is only 6 and does not know what she is doing." Help!
—Sick of Dealing With It