NEWSMichelle Obama Made Daughters Do Chores and Get Summer Jobs While Living in the White House to Give Them 'as Normal of a Life as Possible'
Barack and Michelle Obama's daughters were in elementary school when they moved into the White House.
July 22 2025, Published 12:08 p.m. ET
Michelle Obama insisted she and husband Barack "did everything we could to give our girls as normal of a life as possible" while the family-of-four lived in the White House from 2009 to 2017.
The former first lady touched on raising their girls, Sasha, 24, and Malia, 27, in a new interview.
Barack and Michelle Obama's Daughters Had Chores in the White House
Michelle Obama revealed her daughters had to make their bed every morning while living in the White House.
"When we were at the White House, we made sure they were doing things like making their beds every morning and as they got older, getting summer jobs," the Becoming author, 61, revealed to Parents. "Once we left the White House, their lives slowly began to inch a little closer toward normalcy."
"But the truth is, their circumstances have been extraordinary in so many ways — and that forced them to learn critical skills like discipline, flexibility, and determination to go after what they really wanted," Michelle said.
The Former First Lady Is 'Impressed' by Her and Barack's Girls
The mom-of-two gushed over how proud she is of the way her daughters handle 'scrutiny.'
"My girls are both in their 20s. And while they know that even now, they are under more scrutiny than others their age, they’ve learned to roll with the punches," Michelle proudly continued. "I’m always so impressed by how they handle it — with grace, resolve, and charm. These days, more than anything, I can’t wait to see how they surprise us next."
Barack and Michelle Are Glad They Didn't Have a Son
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Both Sasha and Malia have graduated from college.
As OK! reported, the spouses recently revealed that the former POTUS wanted a third child, but his wife was against it.
She confessed on a June episode of her "IMO" podcast that she's "glad" they never welcomed a son, "because he would’ve been a Barack Obama. I would’ve felt for him."
The former president admitted he would have found it difficult to raise a son.
When the ex-POTUS, 63, appeared on a July episode of his wife's program, he said the same thing.
"I think we did a pretty good job of raising our girls, but I've said often that I think I would have had more difficulty raising a son," the dad-of-two admitted, to which Michelle replied, "I agree."
"I think I might've been more judgmental, harder, and I would've tried to — I'd like to think I would have been more self-aware enough to combat that, but I just think father-son relationships, for me, particularly if I don't have a dad around to show it to me, might've been more difficult," Barack stated.
Are Barack and Michelle Obama Divorcing?
The spouses have squashed ongoing divorce rumors.
Barack's guest appearance on Michelle's podcast came after months of people speculating that they were splitting up, as Michelle didn't accompany her husband to Donald Trump's inauguration or Jimmy Carter's funeral — however, she insisted that wasn't the case.
"The fact that people don’t see me going out on a date with my husband sparks rumors of the end of our marriage," the podcast host said in another interview. "It’s like, ‘OK, so we don’t Instagram every minute of our lives.’ We are 60. We’re 60, y’all. You just are not gonna know what we’re doing every minute of the day."
