Michelle Obama Recalls Pivotal Moment She Told Daughters Sasha and Malia She Was ‘Done Parenting’

Michelle Obama is getting real about her motherhood journey.

The former first lady of the United States opened up about a turning point she experienced with her daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, whom she shares with husband Barack Obama.

On the latest episode of her and her brother’s IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast, Michelle, 61, and guest Henry Winkler, 80, discussed raising children with very different personalities.

“I tell this story all the time about Malia and Sasha; they were probably 7 and 3 at the time,” Michelle recalled. “And Barack was traveling. So I was at home trying to get the girls to bed. They were great kids, but this was one night that they were just being rambunctious.”

Michelle said she told her daughters to “get ready” and “it’s time to take your baths,” however, “no one was listening.”

“I was in my frustrated mommy time, and I said, ‘Well, that’s it,’ ” Michelle explained. “‘You know, no one listens to me. I’m done parenting. You seem like you guys have this all figured out, and you can do this on your own. So have at it.’ “

The Becoming author continued that despite being sisters, Malia and Sasha had two completely different reactions to her declaration.

“My oldest daughter, Malia, said, ‘Oh no, mommy, you know, I can’t do without you.’ And this is what I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, this is what I wanted.’ I wanted her to realize that she needed me,” Michelle shared. “So she immediately started taking off her clothes. And it’s like, ‘Mommy, no, I don’t know what I could do without you.’ “

Still, Sasha, who was 3 at the time, was seemingly unfazed by her mother’s stance.

“Sasha, my 3-year-old, was sitting on the stairs watching all this. She took her blankie, and she turned around and went back upstairs to watch TV, as if to say, like, ‘thank God,’ ” the two-time Grammy winner said. “‘At last, this is what I wanted from you, lady. I am 3. I can handle this. I’m going back upstairs.'”

Michelle confessed that Sasha “got up five steps” before she stopped her toddler, directing her to “turn around and get back here.”

Looking back, Michelle said she realized, “Well, it worked for one, didn’t work for the other.”

Winkler asked the mom of two if she still sees those traits in Malia and Sasha today, and Michelle affirmed, “Yes, exactly who they were.”

“My younger daughter, she wants to learn her way,” Michelle noted. “She doesn’t want to be told that this is how you do it. We tell her, but she’s gotta learn on her own.”

Michelle Obama is getting real about her motherhood journey.

The former first lady of the United States opened up about a turning point she experienced with her daughters, Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, whom she shares with husband Barack Obama.

On the latest episode of her and her brother’s IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson podcast, Michelle, 61, and guest Henry Winkler, 80, discussed raising children with very different personalities.

“I tell this story all the time about Malia and Sasha; they were probably 7 and 3 at the time,” Michelle recalled. “And Barack was traveling. So I was at home trying to get the girls to bed. They were great kids, but this was one night that they were just being rambunctious.”

Michelle said she told her daughters to “get ready” and “it’s time to take your baths,” however, “no one was listening.”

“I was in my frustrated mommy time, and I said, ‘Well, that’s it,’ ” Michelle explained. “‘You know, no one listens to me. I’m done parenting. You seem like you guys have this all figured out, and you can do this on your own. So have at it.’ “

The Becoming author continued that despite being sisters, Malia and Sasha had two completely different reactions to her declaration.

“My oldest daughter, Malia, said, ‘Oh no, mommy, you know, I can’t do without you.’ And this is what I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, this is what I wanted.’ I wanted her to realize that she needed me,” Michelle shared. “So she immediately started taking off her clothes. And it’s like, ‘Mommy, no, I don’t know what I could do without you.’ “

Still, Sasha, who was 3 at the time, was seemingly unfazed by her mother’s stance.

“Sasha, my 3-year-old, was sitting on the stairs watching all this. She took her blankie, and she turned around and went back upstairs to watch TV, as if to say, like, ‘thank God,’ ” the two-time Grammy winner said. “‘At last, this is what I wanted from you, lady. I am 3. I can handle this. I’m going back upstairs.'”

Michelle confessed that Sasha “got up five steps” before she stopped her toddler, directing her to “turn around and get back here.”

Looking back, Michelle said she realized, “Well, it worked for one, didn’t work for the other.”

Winkler asked the mom of two if she still sees those traits in Malia and Sasha today, and Michelle affirmed, “Yes, exactly who they were.”

“My younger daughter, she wants to learn her way,” Michelle noted. “She doesn’t want to be told that this is how you do it. We tell her, but she’s gotta learn on her own.”