Michelle Obama and Barack Obama have raised two daughters to be successful young women in their own right – but not without having some tough parenting discussions along the way.
During the latest Wednesday episode of her IMO podcast, which she hosts with older brother Craig Robinson, the former First Lady, 61, revealed the stern conversation she had with her husband, 63, immediately after he was elected President of the United States in 2009.
Michelle was talking to guest Julia Louis-Dreyfus about making and maintaining friendships as you grow older – and how that became more complicated once the family moved to Washington, D.C., because it impacted how they approached their daughters’ new school.
Michelle – whose marriage to Barack has been plagued with rift rumors in recent months – began by discussing a tough parenting conversation the couple had after they moved into the White House.
She explained that she told her husband he had to get their daughters’ school used to the President of the United States being at events – and that she wanted him to still be as engaged with this daughters’ lives as he was before he took office.
‘It was like, “no, you got to go to parent-teacher conference” – and he wanted to go,’ Michelle told Julia and Craig.
She stated that even if he was not necessarily required to go, she still expected him there.
‘You have to get the school normalized to you being the type of engaged parent that you were before election night,’ she recalled telling Barack.
Michelle Obama and Barack Obama have raised two daughters to be successful young women in their own right – but not without having some tough parenting discussions along the way
‘And you were the father that went to parent teacher conference, you were the father that would coach your girls’ basketball game league,’ she recounted.
Michelle explained that although her first instinct was to not make new friends while living in the White House – in case they weren’t trustworthy, gossiped about them, or sold stories to the media – she knew the couple had to unite as parents and make life as ‘normal’ as possible for their family.
‘I still had little kids. My girls were 10 and seven, moving into a new neighborhood, a new community,’ Michelle explained.
The mother-of-two continued, saying her goal was to ‘normalize’ the White House experience for daughters Malia and Sasha, which meant spending time in the community.
‘[I did] not make them feel like these odd little kids with Secret Service that were outsiders, which meant that I couldn’t – I didn’t – have the luxury of saying no new friends, right?’ she reflected.
The devoted mom went on to say that when raising children, it is vital to be part of the bigger community that they are in.
‘Otherwise you’re screwed,’ she quipped. ‘So that push [to make friends in the community] was necessary.’
Michelle has often given insight into how she and Barack approached parenting their daughters, Malia, now 26, and Sasha, now 24.
The former First Lady, 61, revealed the stern conversation she had with her husband, 63, immediately after he was elected President of the United States in 2009
Michelle has often given insight into how she and Barack approached parenting their daughters, Malia, now 26, and Sasha, now 24
Last month, she revealed she and Barack ran into some trouble as they didn’t see eye-to-eye on the Ferber Method, a popular sleep-training technique
Last month, she revealed she and Barack ran into some trouble as they didn’t see eye-to-eye on the Ferber Method, a popular sleep-training technique.
The Ferber Method, made popular in 1985 by Dr. Richard Ferber, is used to sleep-train babies by teaching them how to self-soothe, per Cleveland Clinic.
One of the main ideas of the technique is to only check on your sleeping child in certain, timed intervals, even if they’re crying.
However, Barack was in favor for using the method while Michelle against when it came to parenting their girls.
The admission came just weeks after Michelle had previously opened up about her relationship with her two daughters and how they started ‘pushing away’ from her and her husband when they were teenagers.
The couple, who have been together for over 30 years, welcomed their firstborn Malia in 1998, and Sasha in 2001.
The mother-of-two explained that she believes her daughters distanced themselves because they wanted to ‘distinguish themselves’ from their famous parents as they became adults during a recent appearance on the Sibling Revelry podcast hosted by Kate and Olivia Hudson.
‘Our daughters are 26 and 23, they are young adult women. But they definitely went through a period in their teen years… it was the “push away.”‘
Michelle noted that she has found that this is something that often happens to celebrity kids.
‘They’re still doing that, and you guys know this of children with parents who are known,’ she continued.
‘You’re trying to distinguish yourself. It’s very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world.’
