Michelle Obama reveals why she stopped spanking her daughters to discipline them: 'I felt embarrassed'

Michelle Obama reveals why she stopped spanking her daughters to discipline them: 'I felt embarrassed'
Michelle Obama admitted to faltering initially while bringing up daughters Malia and Shasha (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Michelle Obama opened up about a parenting lesson she learned the hard way. The former first lady confessed that she once spanked her daughters, but later, to her embarrassment, realized it was ineffective and didn't align with the family life she wanted to create.

 

Since leaving the White House in 2017, Michelle has been increasingly open about her experiences as a mother, wife, and public figure, often reflecting on the challenges of raising a family before, during, and after their time in Washington, DC.

Michelle, who has been married to Barack Obama since 1992, is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Michelle Obama opens up about a parenting decision that she now regrets

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: Former President of the United States Barak Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama attend opening night on day one of the 2023 US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/GC Images)
Former President of the United States Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama attend opening night on day one of the 2023 US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 28, 2023, in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City (Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

In a recent episode of her podcast, 'IMO', with her brother Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama opened up about a parenting decision she now regrets—spanking her daughters, Malia and Sasha, when they misbehaved.

 

She admitted it didn’t take long for her to question the method. “I felt silly,” she said. “It took a couple of spankings for me to be like, yeah, you know what? I don't want to do this anymore.”

 

Reflecting on the moment, she added, “This is a little kid. And the fact that I can't think of any better way to get my point across than to smack somebody on the butt. I felt embarrassed," as per UNILAD.

DENVER - AUGUST 25: Michelle Obama (C), wife of presumptive Democratic nominee U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), stands with her daughters Sasha (L) and Malia during day one of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the Pepsi Center August 25, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. The DNC, where U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be officially nominated as the Democratic candidate for U.S. president, starts today and finishes August 28th. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Michelle Obama (C), wife of Barack Obama, stands with her daughters Sasha (L) and Malia during day one of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the Pepsi Center August 25, 2008, in Denver, Colorado (John Moore/Getty Images)

Michelle also used the conversation to comment on modern parenting trends. She observed that many parents today are so focused on protecting their children from failure that they’re living their children’s lives for them.

 

“I want to be a proponent for reinstating some of the stuff that we had,” she said. “You know, parents are too afraid to set those kinds of boundaries. And I think that’s also part of the challenge that we’re facing in this generation.”



 

Michelle Obama shares challenges of raising her daughters under spotlight

Michelle Obama continued to share candid reflections on motherhood, opening up about the challenges of raising daughters under the national spotlight and the importance of letting children learn from their mistakes.

Speaking on her podcast, she emphasized the value of teaching children “sense and judgment,” noting that modern parenting often leans too heavily on overprotection. 

“I think nowadays a lot of parents are trying to live their kids’ lives for them so that they don’t make any mistakes and don’t feel any sense of failure which keeps them from learning,” she said. “I raised you to have some sense, to have judgment. And at some point, you’ve got to practice that, which means that I've got to let go.”

President Barack Obama speaks onstage as Michelle Obama (L), Sasha Obama (2nd L), and Malia Obama (R) look on during TNT's
Barack Obama speaks onstage as Michelle Obama, Sasha Obama, and Malia Obama look on during TNT's 'Christmas in Washington 2010' at the National Building Museum on December 12, 2010, in Washington, DC (Getty Images)

Previously, Michelle also gave rare insight into what she described as the “nightmare” of parenting teenagers while living in the White House. Malia and Sasha were just 10 and 7 years old when their father, Barack Obama, became president in 2009, and they spent much of their adolescence in the public eye during his two terms, as per The Independent.

“They had to drive and they had to go to prom and they were on teams and they travelled to other schools and they had to do college searches and they went to parties and they had drinks and they tried out smoking and they did all the things,” Michelle said. “Every weekend was a nightmare, because we had to work to make sure that them being regular teenagers didn’t wind up."

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