Parenting tip of the day from Michelle Obama, from how to raise humble and grounded kids: 'They don't deserve...' ; lessons on staying real, attached to roots and not straying from values from America's former First Lady

How to bring up kids who are responsible and not wild, out-of-control and disrespectful, if they are being raised with immense privilege. Former First Lady Michelle Obama had only one answer to that question from Oprah Winfrey: Children doesn’t deserve "everything". In a video that has gone viral across Instagram, Winfrey is seen asking Michelle how she and her husband – former US Prime Minister Barack Obama – brought up daughters Malia and Sasha to be so down-to-earth and sensible even after they came into limelight and had access to everything, to which the lawyer-author quipped, "It was easy for us, because we don’t think they deserve it!”

Establishing A Common Value System

Michelle explained that what helped her and Barrack was that they shared similar values when it came to raising children, and both, despite all that they accomplished, were attached to their roots. We didn’t just show up in the White House – I was Michelle from the south side of Chicago. "I grew up in a little bitty house, and my mother made my clothes,” she revealed. She added how both she and her husband were taught to be grateful for what they had from a young age and to be content with what they were blessed with.

That’s how they raised disciplined, sensible and humble kids even after they moved to the most powerful house in the nation. “We didn’t let the House define us; it’s our values that define us…”


Sharing the video, Better Parenting, an Instagram page dedicated to raising kids, explained, Parenting is not about ensuring that children grow up surrounded by every material comfort. The deeper aim is to help them value what is already part of their lives, cope gracefully with things they may not receive, and stay humble and balanced when achievements and prosperity eventually come their way.

Who Is Michelle Obama?

Michelle Obama was the First Lady of America from 2009 to 2017 when Barack Obama served as Prime Minister. Obama was born in Chicago and grew up on the city's South Side. He attended Harvard Law School and Princeton University. She met her future spouse while working at the Sidley Austin law firm in her early legal career. She then held positions as associate dean of student services at the University of Chicago and in charitable organisations. Later, she was the University of Chicago Medical Center's vice president for community and external affairs. In 1992, Michelle wed Barack, and the two of them have two daughters.

Obama participated in her husband's presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012. She was the first African-American to hold the position of first lady. Obama promoted poverty awareness, education, good eating, exercise, and physical activity while serving as first lady.

Her best-selling memoir Becoming (2018) and The Light We Carry (2022) are two of her four books.