Michelle Obama recently shared candid insights into the difficulties she faced as a mother while raising her daughters, Malia and Sasha, during their teenage years—particularly as they navigated typical adolescent behaviors such as experimenting with smoking and drinking.
Speaking on Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa on SiriusXM, the former First Lady admitted that parenting during her husband’s presidency was no easy task. As the girls matured, Michelle found herself questioning her approach to motherhood.
“It was a real test,” she explained. “Keeping them out of the headlines and maintaining their privacy got harder the older they got.”
Michelle, now 61, reflected that life with her daughters was relatively smooth during Barack Obama’s first term, when Malia was 10 and Sasha just 7. However, as the years went on and the girls stepped into adolescence, things became more complex.
During Obama’s second term, the challenges intensified. “They had to learn how to drive, go to prom, join sports teams, travel for school events, and begin the college search process,” Michelle said. “They also went to parties, had drinks, tried smoking—all the typical teenage experiences.”
She emphasized that weekends were particularly stressful, as she and Barack worked tirelessly to ensure that their daughters’ experiences as normal teenagers didn’t end up splashed across celebrity tabloids like Page Six.
Raising two daughters in the spotlight, Michelle explained, required constant vigilance and thoughtful parenting—especially as they tried to provide Malia and Sasha with as normal a life as possible amid extraordinary circumstances.
