The Obamas As Parents: Keeping It Real, Practical, And Truly Inspirational!

Let’s admit it. Among the style icons and the world leaders who have been American Presidents earlier, the current one is and will always remain our favourite. An orator par excellence, a wonderful leader and above all a great parent is what we see in President Barack Obama. Father of two girls Malia and Sasha, the girls have made a lot of public appearances along with Daddy Dearest and Mom- Michelle Obama. We have heard Obama talk about raising his daughters, and how fatherhood has changed him, life after being president, and of course the first lady on what her girls really want. 

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In this video the President shares his life lessons on being a parent. A great talk from the man himself!

Here are some of the ways Obama has inspired us parents and lessons we can learn from him:

1.Praise Your Spouse:

This is already our favourite. On endless occasions and across various stages in the world, President Obama has never failed to compliment his super-successful wife Michelle. He has spoken of what an inspiration she is and how she has raised their kids. Now this is something all of us can learn and implement. Praising the spouse in front of the kids (and to the world!) does so much good to your child. Remember.

2. Compliment Your Kids:

When my li’l one leaves for school and I get some time on my hands, I pick up the phone to catch up with my mom and mother-in-law and more often that not, the conversation steers towards what all my li’l one did. I tell them with so much pride about the little star she drew, the apple that she coloured on paper and the rhyme that she sang! And then I realised, do I praise my kid this much when she is around? Surprisingly, No. On the journey to being a strict disciplinarian Mom, we lose out on the small things. Praise your kids often and notice the small wonderful things in them. President Obama says this about his young girls and we love it -“They’re smart, they’re funny. They take after their mom”!

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3. Define Your Parenting Style and Stick to it

In a townhall meeting last year, the President is said to have mentioned how as parents, he and Michelle believe in unconditional love but are pretty firm too. And just like normal parents who battle hard to draw a line between having fun and those TV times, he says he lays the ground rules firm and clear for his children. “If you start early enough with high expectations, I think kids do well with that,â€_x009d_ Obama advised.

4. Spend Quality Family Time

As a parent I have made sure to enforce this and when the American President concurs with me (!), I can’t help but feel proud. Nothing bonds a family more than meal time. Make it a habit to sit together and discuss the day’s events as a family. This way, the children watch you and learn to share their experiences too. The President says ““As much as possible, when we’re home, they have to sit down and eat dinner with us. You sit down, leave your cell phones somewhere else and we’ll have a conversation.â€_x009d_ If Obama can take time out from his schedule for family, we can do it too.

5. Imparting Lessons to Kids 

We read in an article in the Huffington Post about Michelle Obama has important lessons to impart to her daughters. They are made to choose one sport that they like and learn it and mom decides the other sport that they must learn. This surprised some but the First Lady explains, ““I want them to understand what it feels like to do something you don’t like and to improve”! Teach life lessons for kids through such small acts which will leave an impact with them.

6. Accept The Fact That They Are Way Smarter

We often teach the children each and every aspect about a given problem, that we hardly realise that they might have alternative or even better ideas to solve things! Come to terms with the fact that our children our much smarter than us! The American President accepts this fact by saying “”Nothing beats watching your children become smarter and cooler than you are. And you suddenly will hear them say something or make a joke or have an insight and you go, ‘Wow. I didn’t think of that”

Image source: denizen.com

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