The Obamas' and the McCains' on Family Life

Found on MotherTalkers – “Rants and Raves on Modern Motherhood” was a piece on the family lives of the Obamas’ and the McCains’. Michelle and Barack Obama and Cindy McCain, spoke with Parents magazine about how they raise their children and the challenges they have faced. The Obama family sees conversation and talking to children as the most “effective discipline tool”. Michelle Obama, said :“I don’t think you can overestimate how important conversations are from the time kids are even 2 and 3. We made our expectations clear early on, so now we’re not talking about rules or arguing about what they have to do. They know what we expect from them, and they’re eager to please us. Barack Obama responded with “Now, granted, they are not teenagers, so we don’t want to sound like, “Well, aren’t we the clever parents?” and then you talk to us four years from now…”Cindy McCain discussed the adoption of her daughter Bridget and the medical issues they faced when they brought her home. The magazine asked “Did you have any other challenges helping her adjust? Did she ever wonder why she didn’t look like the rest of the family?
No, and I think that says a great deal about my children, if I can brag for a moment. When I first walked in the door with her—here I was coming home with a brand-new baby sister who no one knew was coming—my kids never missed a beat. She was absolutely part of the family immediately—including the pranks that kids play on each other.” And also “I remember that I used to take her to the market, and people would stop and stare at her. It was really my first encounter with—I don’t think prejudice is the right word, but certainly a misunderstanding of what she was all about and what was going on with her