While Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are often praised for their endearing relationship with their daughters, Malia and Sasha, there was a time when the former First Lady had almost given up on parenting them.
On her and her brother Craig Robinson’s IMO podcast, Michelle recalled the incident when her daughters were being too difficult to control, pushing her patience to the limit. She added that this was the time when her husband was traveling.
Talking about the incident in the podcast, Michelle revealed, “I was at home trying to get the girls to bed. They were probably 7 and 3 at the time.” Michelle recalled that her daughters were particularly ‘rambunctious’ that evening when they were otherwise good kids.
Having had enough of their tantrums, Michelle was “done parenting” at that moment. She further recalled telling them, “Well, that’s it… I’m done parenting. You seem like you guys have this all figured out, and you can do this on your own. So have at it.”
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Her eldest daughter, Malia (27), immediately apologized since she was clueless as to what to do without her mother. But the same could not be said about her younger sister.
Michelle’s younger daughter, Sasha (24), would not give in so easily and went to watch TV in her room. Remembering her younger daughter’s behavior, the former First Lady said, “She took her blankie, and she turned around and went back upstairs to watch TV.”
The Becoming author added, “As if to say, like, ‘Thank God. At last. This is what I wanted from you, lady. I am 3. I can handle this. I’m going back upstairs. She got five steps up, and I was like, ‘If you don’t turn around and get back down here.’ Well, it worked for one. Didn’t work for the other.”
The mother of two also explained that this particular incident in their childhood was a defining moment in how her daughters have different personalities from each other.
Michelle said, “My younger daughter she wants to learn her way. She doesn’t want to be told that this is how you do it. We tell her, but she’s got to learn on her own.”
The Look author also admitted that she had a more difficult time raising her younger daughter. Michelle explained that while her eldest daughter, Malia, is a “people pleaser”, her younger daughter, Sasha, is the exact opposite of her sister.
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Michelle added, “Sasha is like a cat. She’s like, Don’t touch me, don’t pet me. I’m not pleasing you. You come to me.” She revealed how she and her husband, Barack Obama (64), have learned to be ‘chameleons’ as parents.
Barack and Michelle tied the knot on October 3, 1992. They welcomed Malia on July 4, 1998, while Sasha was born on June 10, 2001.
While Malia is a Harvard University graduate and a filmmaker, her younger sister, Sasha, has a sociology degree from the University of Southern California.
Barack Obama also made an appearance on his wife’s podcast in July this year. Taking a fun dig at the speculations surrounding trouble in his marriage with Michelle, the former President said that their relationship has been “touch and go for a while.”
