Michelle Obama Reveals What It's Really Like Being With Sasha And Malia

Forget a date with the president's daughter when you can be a fly on the wall at dinnertime with the Obamas. Although we imagine former President Barack Obama sitting at the head of the table with his tie undone as he and wife Michelle Obama compare their efforts for social justice in a day's work, it's harder to picture daughters Malia and Sasha Obama's contribution to the conversation, since they try to stay under the radar as much as possible.

However, Michelle has said that her girls are a force to be reckoned with and rule the roost at home — or at least the topic of conversation for the day. "If you sit around the dinner table, me and Barack, we can't get a word in edgewise and we like it like that," the proud mama said to Good Morning America's Robin Roberts in March 2021, while discussing how she encourages them to be independent thinkers. "We want to hear their thoughts and their opinions, and that's where it begins." 

This isn't the first time Michelle has spoken about encouraging her daughters to speak up. "It's up to us, as mothers and mother-figures, to give the girls in our lives the kind of support that keeps their flame lit and lifts up their voices — not necessarily with our own words, but by letting them find the words themselves," she wrote in a Mother's Day essay for People in 2019. Keep scrolling for more details about what Sasha and Malia Obama are like behind closed doors.

Despite not tweeting their every thought like some presidential children, Sasha and Malia Obama are just as opinionated on important issues as their famous parents. "What I hope they learn is that who they are right now is enough," Michelle Obama said to Good Morning America. "I always have wanted them to start practicing the power of their voices very early on."

It looks like Michelle was on to something with her parenting techniques, considering the former first daughters' already impressive resumes. As of this writing, Malia is a senior at Harvard, while Sasha is a sophomore at the University of Michigan — not too shabby!

Additionally, former President Barack Obama has said his young adult children are actually "such great friends" — although they used to quarrel when they were younger (something anyone with siblings can relate to). "They've got a three-year gap between them, and when one is 16 and the other one's 13, there's still that sister competition," he told People in 2020. "'Did you grab my halter top? Where is it? Why haven't you returned it? Why are you doing this, why are you doing that?'"

While we are impressed he knows what a halter top is, Barack added, "Now they're both old enough, where they just enjoy each other's company." Seeing "how they've become these marvelous young women," the former POTUS shared, "There's been no greater joy than that."