Michelle Obama Spills Why Barack Struggled More With Raising Youngest Daughter Sasha Than Malia

Michelle Obama revealed why her husband, Barack Obama, found it “more difficult” to raise their younger daughter, Sasha, than their older daughter, Malia.

The mom-of-two, 62, explained that Barack, 64, and Malia, 27, connected more seamlessly because of Malia’s “unusual characteristic” as a teenager, during the Wednesday, August 20, episode of the “IMO” podcast.

“I’d say this to Barack, when it comes to, you know, [our] oldest, Malia, she is going to figure out who you are, what do you like and let’s discuss it,” she recalled, explaining to her co-host and brother Craig Robinson that Malia liked to warm her father up before asking for permission to things.

“When Malia was a teenager, it wasn’t that she was going out any less or doing anything differently,” Michelle said. “She would tell me, ‘I’m going out this weekend, but I’m going to go in and give dad like 15 minutes.'”

The former first lady laughed as she recalled her eldest daughter taking time to ask Barack questions about the political climate, to which the former president replied, “I just had an amazing conversation with Malia.”

Michelle recounted how her husband called Sasha “difficult,” but explained it was because their youngest wasn’t a people “pleaser” like her sister.

“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,’” Michelle explained, adding that parents have to be a “chameleon” and adjust to different temperaments.

“Some people parent to one child, or one personality child, but then you have three,” she concluded.

Michelle often shares anecdotes about raising her two daughters with a sense of grounded upbringing during their years in the White House from 2009 to 2017. Last month, the former first lady revealed that she made sure her daughters still did everyday things like making their beds each morning and working summer jobs.

"Once we left the White House, their lives slowly began to inch a little closer toward normalcy,” the Becoming author told Parents in July. "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.