Former first lady Michelle Obama made it clear on her podcast that she is glad to be a girl mom.
Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, hosted radio personality Angie Martinez on their show, IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, to discuss their childhoods and the challenge of raising boys in today’s society. It is something of particular interest now that the former first daughters, Sasha and Malia, are going on dates.
“I have daughters, and my daughters are encountering men and boys,” Obama said.
Obama indicated that there is often a difference between how parents raise daughters versus sons.
“Teach him how to deal with a traffic stop, but also teach him how to communicate in a marriage and be a listening father and to be a compassionate neighbor and to be a voting citizen,” Obama said.
She also said the purpose of parenting is to cultivate a functioning adult in today’s society.
“If you’re thinking about that human, then all these [parenting] choices become a little bit more clear,” Obama added. “It’s about what he needs as a grown man in the world.”
Martinez, who has one son, told Obama she should have had a boy based on what she had to say about raising them. The former first lady immediately had a visceral reaction to the thought, saying she “would have felt for him.”
“I’m so glad I didn’t have a boy, ooh, because he would have been a Barack Obama, ooh,” Obama said, shaking her head vigorously.
Robinson, who has three sons, quickly jumped in and explained that the Obamas just “borrowed [his] boys.”
They went on to discuss the male loneliness epidemic.
“You’re reading in studies that more young men feel isolated, they’re feeling alone, some of that is because of the pandemic, some of it is because they feel left out,” Obama said.
Martinez spoke thoroughly on the topic of not being a helicopter parent, rather guiding children to their own results.
“I try to walk that fine line of letting them become [someone on their own], showing by example, and then also encouraging when I see something that I’m proud of,” Martinez said. “Obviously, if they did something that was completely wrong or out of line, then we’re going to address that.”
Robinson and the others all mentioned that many of the feelings of isolation are being spurred by controlling parenting styles.
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“Part of it has to do with parents who are trying to curate their upbringing instead of just letting them be outside — play, say the wrong thing, get into a fight with your boys, have to make up, and then start playing again,” Robinson said.
Obama and Martinez also mentioned their reliance on prayers and their Christian faith, with Martinez saying, “Prayer don’t hurt either.”