Michelle Obama Reveals How She Kept Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25, Grounded Growing Up in the White House

Michelle Obama is just like any other mom.

The former first lady, 62, spoke about how she kept her daughters — Malia Obama and Sasha Obama, whom she shares with husband Barack Obama — grounded while they grew up in the White House.

On the Wednesday, September 9, episode of her IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast, the Becoming author responded to a listener’s question about how to deal with rejection and feelings of failure.

After Michelle said that failure “is like a push up” and helps you build muscle, she discussed how she talked about disappointment with her daughters Malia, 28, and Sasha, 25.

“The girls tell me, ‘Mom, you used to tell us ‘no,” recalled Michelle. “It’d be like: ‘Why?’ Because you need to know what ‘no’ feels like.”

“Especially for kids like ours who [have] no natural ‘no,'” Michelle said, to which guest 2 Chainz joked that they are “nepo babies.”

“We grew up with a lot of ‘no’s,” said Michelle. “It was just no. ‘We can’t afford it. We can’t have that.’ That was the true answer: no.”

Following their time in the White House, Malia and Sasha went on to college, with Malia attending Harvard University and Sasha going to the University of Michigan before transferring to the University of Southern California.

Malia pursued a career in the film industry and has worked as a writer on the Amazon Prime Video television series Swarm.

In June, the Obamas celebrated Sasha’s 25th birthday. Alongside family photos on Instagram, the former president wrote, “Happy birthday, Sasha! Can’t believe you’re 25 — time really does fly. It’s been such a joy watching you become the woman you are today.”

In celebration of Malia’s birthday on July 4, Barack wrote on Instagram, “Happy Birthday, Malia! Don’t know where the time goes – but the joy of having you as a daughter never gets old.”