Michelle Obama has candidly shared the challenges of raising her daughters, Malia and Sasha, in the spotlight, admitting that during their teenage years, both daughters began to “push away” from her and her husband, former President Barack Obama.

During a recent appearance on Sibling Revelry with hosts Kate and Olivia Hudson, Michelle, 61, opened up about the difficulties she faced while raising two young women in the public eye. She revealed that as Malia and Sasha entered adulthood, they naturally distanced themselves as a way to “distinguish themselves” from their famous parents.

Reflecting on the teen years of her daughters, Michelle said, “Where do we begin? Our daughters are 26 and 23 now, but they definitely went through a period in their teen years… it was the ‘push away.’” She acknowledged that this is a common experience for the children of famous parents.

Michelle Obama on Her Daughters’ Desire to Find Their Own Paths
The former First Lady explained, “It’s very important for my kids to feel like they’ve earned what they are getting in the world.” She added that Malia, in an effort to establish her own identity, even dropped her famous last name when she premiered her short film at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. “We were like, ‘They’re still going to know it’s you, Malia,’” Michelle laughed, but she respected her daughter’s desire to make her own way.

Michelle also shared the challenges she faced in protecting her daughters’ privacy while Barack was in office, especially as they grew older. She said it became harder to keep their lives out of the public eye as they reached the typical milestones of adolescence, including attending prom, trying smoking, and experiencing college life.

“Every weekend was a nightmare,” Michelle admitted, speaking about the lengths they went to in order to ensure their daughters led normal lives despite the public interest. “We had to make sure that them being regular teenagers didn’t wind up on Page Six.”

Behind the Scenes: The Struggles of Parenting in the Public Eye
Michelle also spoke about the added complexity of raising children under Secret Service protection. “When your kids are under the security of the Secret Service, you almost have to work twice as hard to make their life normal,” she said. She described how, when her daughters went to a friend’s house, an entire team had to come in, search the house, and ensure there were no illegal substances.

But now that Malia and Sasha are adults, Michelle’s focus has shifted. “We call that the Obama tax for them. You’ll have it the rest of your life, but you also have a lot of benefits,” she said. Her priority now is to keep her daughters grounded: “I’m trying to make this feel normal to them because you don’t want them to get full of themselves, to think this world is about them.”

Michelle Obama’s Parenting Evolution: A Moment of Reflection
In a more personal revelation, Michelle also shared her experience of reevaluating her parenting style. On her podcast IMO with Michelle Obama, she admitted that she had previously resorted to spanking her daughters but later changed her approach after reflecting on it. “I felt silly,” she said. “It took a couple of spankings for me to be like, ‘Yeah, you know what? I don’t want to do this anymore.’”

She described the moment that led her to reconsider her approach, saying, “I felt like, you know, this is a little kid, and the fact that I can’t think of any better way to get my point across than to smack somebody on the butt—I felt embarrassed.”

Source: From