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DEL.ICIO.USTop stress for new First Lady: Hoping the kids don’t mess up the White House
Even well-behaved children have accidents at home, but usually it’s not in a room decorated by Abigail Adams. I offer some advice mother-to-mother to help Michelle protect the most historic home in America.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If I were becoming the First Lady of the United States, like Michelle Obama, what would be the scariest part of the new gig?
Surely having to dance at 10 official balls in front of millions of people would be frightening. It would also be a little overwhelming to entertain and host kings, queens and heads of state from all over the world. Not to mention supporting your husband while he deals with wars and an economic meltdown.
But even with all that, I think the most stressful part would be having to let your small children live in the most historic home in America.
Last year we visited the White House for a 45-minute tour and in that short time with limited access, my kids almost did some damage. A White House staffer had to tell my 7-year-old, “Miss, can you please not sit in the John Adams chair.” In Rose’s defense, the chair was not roped off and we were waiting in a long line, but the story illustrates the potential pitfalls of having small children in a home with irreplaceable antiques around every corner.
Back at home, I can testify to the damage that my children did to our new house in just one year, and I can’t even imagine having to constantly worry about a child dumping grape juice on Dolley Madison’s rug or Jackie Kennedy’s curtains.
While I am certain the Obama girls are extremely well-behaved at 7 and 10 and will stay mostly in the residence; they are still children, and accidents do happen.
If 7-year-old Sasha is anything like my 7-year-old daughter, that South Lawn and those famous rose bushes will be under constant attack. Put the gardeners on alert - Little girls like to dig for no reason and also have a penchant for pulling petals from flowers. I fear the White House rose garden will suffer the same fate as my camellias, plucked bald.
I also can envision the girls thinking the bowling alley would make a great place to practice tap dancing and God forbid one of the girls or their buddies can’t make it to the bathroom while swimming in the White House pool. An accident is embarrassing enough at a neighborhood pool, but can you imagine having to alert the White House staff that the presidential pool needs to shut down and shocked!
At 10, Malia may also be playing with make-up. A little misplaced cream blush and lipstick could certainly create an unintended, yet colorful mess for the White House staff.
And we all know how wrong spend-the-night-parties can go. Silly string, pizza stains, and kids who eat too much junk food. I remember being embarrassed to tell my mother that one of the guests at my fifth-grade birthday party vomited purple icing onto her carpet. It’s got to be even tougher to tell your mother that your friend messed up Lady Bird Johnson’s favorite room.
Other than just apologizing constantly to the staff for any messes and praying that nothing of real value is damaged permanently, I’d like to offer the new First Lady a couple of ideas.
Before that fancy interior designer who is redoing the residence for the family picks out something non-washable and light in color for the girls’ bedspreads, I’d like to mention that Target has some very cute hot pink or bright green with polka dots comforter sets on sale for $39. Also some cute throw rugs, polka dot bath mats and towels that would be no stress if the nail polish happened to topple over. They clean up easily in the washer, believe me, we’ve done it.
I’d also like to point out that Lowe’s and Pottery Barn for Teens has these very adorable vinyl stick-on/take-off wall decors that would make it very easy, quick and non-damaging to decorate the girls’ walls. I’m planning to use the multi-sized polka dots from Pottery Barn in our kids’ redecorated bathroom.
I also would assign the kids a room solely for messy art/science projects. Paper mache, molding clay, water colors, permanent markers, test tubes and scissors should be kept far away from any of the historic furnishings.
I think the First Lady should try to relax, but also tell the White House housekeeping staff to stock up on the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It will get out almost any stain — especially on walls.
And just remember Sasha and Malia, whatever you do: Don’t sit in the John Adams chair!
Would you be worried if you had to live in the White House with your small children? Which part would stress you out the most? What would your tactics be to keep the house safe but comfortable for the children? What is your mom-to-mom advice for our new First Lady?
You can reach Theresa at ajcmomania@gmail.com. We welcome your ideas and comments!
Permalink | Comments (54) | Post your comment | Categories: Family Life
Comments
By awm
January 19, 2009 8:46 AM | Link to this
Discipline………..no stress, no worry…the children are well trained and old enough, mature enough….Parents,and grandma will continue to do guide the girls. Good luck to the family.
By Becky
January 19, 2009 9:03 AM | Link to this
I’m sure that they’ll have lots of people there to pick up after them & never have to worry about any problems..
If they do create havoc in the White House, we’ll never hear about it anyway..
By ebaby
January 19, 2009 9:20 AM | Link to this
I thought the fancy rooms were mostly for tours and special guests? I thought that the rest of the house was always remodeled and fairly new for each family. In which case, let the girls leave their mark. They will only be ruining new stuff- not historically preserved and protected pieces.
By Robin in Alpharetta
January 19, 2009 9:26 AM | Link to this
I wouldn’t worry too much about the Obama girls doing any damage to the White House. That family appears to have their discipline in check. They appear to be the type of parents who tell their children ONE time, don’t touch, stay away, leave that alone, etc.; and the children listen. Children who are brought up knowing boundaries and respect for themselves, adults, and history, will not have the mishaps that you speak of. You remind me of the parents who allow their children to jump on the furniture in department stores, run up and down the hallways of the schools that you visit, and throw tantrums when it’s time to leave the Disney Store. Children need and expect boundaries. It does them a disservice to allow them to do as they wish, all in the name of “kids will be kids.” Parents who stand in a group of other parents and talk while their children are tearing up the place are contributing to all that is wrong with kids today.
By Storm
January 19, 2009 9:45 AM | Link to this
And Robin’s children are perfect little angels.
By almh
January 19, 2009 9:53 AM | Link to this
I would be a stressed mess because my kids are 4 and 2. www.whatisblik.com has cool wall decals too.
By John
January 19, 2009 9:57 AM | Link to this
I want to know why Obama is being called the first african-american president? Do the morons calling him that not know he is 50% white? He is the fisrt bi-racial president but not the first true black one. That, hopefully, will never happen.
By Becky
January 19, 2009 10:07 AM | Link to this
Amen, Storm..
By BRC
January 19, 2009 10:09 AM | Link to this
They won’t be the first kids in the White House. The Kennedy children were much younger, at least John was anyway. The Obamas will live in the residence area of the White House. The expectations are that they will treat it as a residence with children, spilled juice, popcorn in the sofa and all.
By nixon710
January 19, 2009 10:13 AM | Link to this
John It’s becuase of some stupid “one drop” rule. If you have ONE DROP of black in you, you are considered black.
Now, why they are called African-Americans, I have no idea? I don’t believe 90% blacks alive today actually came from Africa. You can thank Jessie Jackson for that phrase.
By BRC
January 19, 2009 10:17 AM | Link to this
Also, the past 2 first families have had at least 1 pet. Pets make messes too and I’m sure the White House staff is equipped to handle it. Kids and maybe a pet are a part of the president’s family and kids and pets need to be cleaned up after. The staffers can buy Oxyclean just like the rest of us.
By Andrew
January 19, 2009 10:21 AM | Link to this
John, before you can speak ill of a person, learn to spell. computers have this wonderful feature now that allows any person to spell check prior to sending a docuument.
By motherjanegoose
January 19, 2009 10:23 AM | Link to this
RE: Robin’s comment… she is correct. Kids will be kids but parents still are in charge of setting the boundaries.
Sometimes I feel as if I am preaching to the choir but if you do not set expectations…YOU are in charge of the problems. Many parents do not see it this way and as Robin has said, “stand in a group of other parents and talk…”
Did my children ever make mistakes YES!!! but they knew there would be consequences. Some were not too fun.
As someone said in a previous topic post… there are usually not bad kids…they are simply the product of bad parenting.
I read an article a while back about a parent who moved her family to Gwinnett County from Boston because of the schools. After a while, her son was sent to the alternative school because he brought a straight edge to school that was simply used as a razor to trim hair….HELLO? She was not happy with what happened and now belongs to a parenting advocacy group to assist these children so they do not fall between the cracks. Am I the only parent who understands the zero tolerancy clause?
We cannot even have a real butter knife on the airplane and this kid is taking a straight edge to school…WHY?
While I did not vote for Obama, it appears that he and his wife are classy understand parenting…the children seem attentive and I think they will be just fine. I hope they set an example of how a family should act.
I pray the opportunity of living in the White House will be
a good one for them. I think the Bush girls seem to have turned out fine ( they did make their mistakes as all kids do). Only time will tell.
By Mrs. Warren
January 19, 2009 10:23 AM | Link to this
Target linens in the White House? HA!! Don’t get me wrong, I love Target, but that’s like putting a cubic zirconia in a platinum setting. Or worse, just a piece of plastic! Better quality linens will stand up to more washing than ones from Target (believe me, I have some, they don’t hold up as well as my triple digit sheets). Anyway, the girls will be fine. Michelle is a great mom and she will keep everything in check. She has great taste so she’s not going to let anything in that house get ruined. And you should know not to sit in an antique chair at the White House, regardless of whether it is roped off or not.
By Gerald
January 19, 2009 10:28 AM | Link to this
John:
Because “biracial” Americans were held as slaves and subjected to segregation and racism just as were all the other “blacks.” It is people like you who for whatever reason wish to deny history that keep trying to claim that Obama isn’t black according to the standards which this country has always judged people to be black, including the police officers that pull over or stop blacks just as fair skinned or biracial than Obama when racially profiling people. So go back to trying to force Obama to release his birth certificate, hoping to prove that Obama is half Arab instead of half black, and quit denying that half - black (and 1/4 black, 1/8th black, 1/16th black, 1/32th black) people haven’t always been considered black in this country, especially where things like slavery and Jim Crow and jobs were concerned.
By Becky
January 19, 2009 10:32 AM | Link to this
Let’s hope that Andrew never mistypes anything..
By motherjanegoose
January 19, 2009 10:34 AM | Link to this
andrew…some of us are thinking quicker than our fingers type…
I have sent in comments with errors just as I omitted “and” between classy and understand in my post above. Please get over yourself…
I personally appreciate posters who are making a contribution ( even if I disagree) and not just attacking other’s spelling….anyone else?
By Gerald
January 19, 2009 10:35 AM | Link to this
nixon710:
Blacks initially refused to adopt the term African - American out of a desire to project to mainstream (white) America their desire to integrate. But when Ronald Reagan was elected and especially when he made open segregationist Ed Meese as attorney general, blacks began referring to themselves as African - American out of anger. I will say that the connection to Africa is as strong for blacks as the connection to Ireland, Italy, Poland, etc. is for the white hyphenated ethnic Americans “Irish - Americans”, “Italian Americans”, “Polish Americans”, etc. and that people who suffer the white ethnic tendency to hyphenate, they should do the same for blacks, because it was the “Irish - Americans” and “Italian - Americans” that blacks who came up with first “Afro-American” in the 1960s (it didn’t catch on) then “African - American” under Reagan (it caught on, but only because of Reagan).
By Nixon710
January 19, 2009 10:37 AM | Link to this
Andrew You might want to take your own advice. As far as I know, “document” only has one “U” in it.
Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone…..
By Rod
January 19, 2009 10:59 AM | Link to this
Andrew - in addition to the “document” error you made, you also made a grammatical error. You said: “John, before you can speak ill of a person, learn to spell. computers have this wonderful feature now that allows any person to spell check prior to sending a docuument.”
First, it’s not: “before you can speak ill”, you meant: “before you speak ill.” The word “can” is not needed and is incorrect.
Secondly, your second sentence started with: “computers…” In America, we start new sentences with capital letters. It should have been: “Computers…”
You made three errors in a short note. That’s pretty shameful. Oh, by the way - you’re also incorrect as there’s no spellcheck when typing on this blog.
By Jason
January 19, 2009 11:03 AM | Link to this
“I want to know why Obama is being called the first african-american president?”
Because his father was from Kenya—which is in Africa.
By Rick
January 19, 2009 11:06 AM | Link to this
Good job Andrew! What a MORON!
By Sarah
January 19, 2009 11:13 AM | Link to this
I think Obama is a true African-American! I am also sure that the Obamas will keep their children in check. Of course there will be accidents but they can be cleaned up.BTW - I love Targ
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 11:23 AM | Link to this
My goodness **Momania. Such a long diatribe on what those darling little girls might do to the White House. There have been little children in the White House before. So you think the gardeners need to be on alert since little girls like to dig? Not all girls like to dig. As you can plainly see, these two girls are respectful, they’re disciplined and well poised. Doubt there will be any romping in the garden.
I’ve been in my house 8 years now. Moved in when my daughter was just turning 6. No damage from her whatsoever. Why, because Mommy don’t play that!!! Discipline your children and they won’t write on the walls or rip the banster down due to constant sliding, or pull wallpaper down. It’s all about discipline. Sorry for my rant!!!
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 11:29 AM | Link to this
My goodness **Momania. Such a long diatribe on what those darling little girls might do to the White House. There have been little children in the White House before. So you think the gardeners need to be on alert since little girls like to dig? Not all girls like to dig. As you can plainly see, these two girls are respectful, they’re disciplined and well poised. Doubt there will be any romping in the garden.
I’ve been in my house 8 years now. Moved in when my daughter was just turning 6. No damage from her whatsoever. Why, because Mommy don’t play that!!! Discipline your children and they won’t write on the walls or rip the banster down due to constant sliding, or pull wallpaper down. It’s all about discipline. Sorry for my rant!!!
By Becky
January 19, 2009 11:32 AM | Link to this
No matter what “damage” these 2 young girls do to the White House, Michelle just needs to remember what we know already, enjoy them while they are young..
They cannot do anything short of burning the house down, that can’t be fixed..So hopefully she will be able to spend lots of quality time with them & make them great women..
By motherjanegoose
January 19, 2009 11:35 AM | Link to this
kool aid house… I bet your kids would not ever think of taking a straight edge razor to school either…see my post above…
It is ALL about parenting and IMHO Michelle probably has a clue about rearing children…her husband too!
I loved the letter he wrote to his children…I hope more AFRICAN AMERICAN parents pay attention to it and the example they are setting as the first family.
NO ONE OWES YOU ANYTHING…you owe yourself the dignity of pursuing a lifestyle you desire…sometimes, you have a LONG road but if you are committed, you will arrive.
Every family, even white folks: who are often bad parents too, could stand to watch and see this family as it respects each other and pulls together.
I do not care if we have someone who is green or pink in the White House, as long as their best interest is in our country. I did not vote for him but am watching his children with respect, so far.
Again, time will tell!
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 12:08 PM | Link to this
motherjanegoose, I definitely agree w/your post. I can take it either way. (1) I’m fooling myself into thinking my child isn’t capable of razor to school), or (2) my child knows better than to act a fool due to my constant parenting, enstilling discipline, letting her know the dire consequences that can result from bad behavior. Hopefully, you post to me relates to the #2.
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 12:13 PM | Link to this
motherjanegoose, I definitely agree w/your post. I can take it either way. (1) I’m fooling myself into thinking my child isn’t capable of razor to school), or (2) my child knows better than to act a fool due to my constant parenting, enstilling discipline, letting her know the dire consequences that can result from bad behavior. Hopefully, you post to me relates to the #2.
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 12:18 PM | Link to this
Sorry about the dbl posting. I’ve been having trouble with the blog machine these past few weeks.
By motherjanegoose
January 19, 2009 12:22 PM | Link to this
kool-aid house: NUMBER 2 ABSOLUTELY! You sound like you have one or two clues…LOL!
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 12:24 PM | Link to this
Sorry about the dbl posting. I’ve been having trouble with the blog machine these past few weeks.
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 12:28 PM | Link to this
That was funny motherjanegoose. My child tells me I’m mean, and I’ll continuously tell her I’m not trying to be her friend. Keep telling her she’ll understand more and more by and by! Something a friend’s grandfather use to say!
On topic, my heart soars knowing I’ll be able to watch, to some degree, Malia and Sasha grow up in the White House. Two beautiful little girls.
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 12:33 PM | Link to this
That was funny motherjanegoose. My child tells me I’m mean, and I’ll continuously tell her I’m not trying to be her friend. Keep telling her she’ll understand more and more by and by! Something a friend’s grandfather use to say!
On topic, my heart soars knowing I’ll be able to watch, to some degree, Malia and Sasha grow up in the White House. Two beautiful little girls.
By motherjanegoose
January 19, 2009 12:52 PM | Link to this
Kool Aid House…read chapter 7 of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch…so many parents today could use this chapter in their lives.
I had lunch with a friend last week who told me that when her daughter turned 20, she called and told her mom ( my friend) that she really did know a few things. During her teens they argued a lot ( as does my daughter LOL). My son is 21 now and he has somewhat seen the light!
By News Flash
January 19, 2009 12:59 PM | Link to this
NEW FLASH Kids have been in the white house for over 200 years now, and the place is still standing!!!!
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 12:59 PM | Link to this
I plan on buying that book. I loved his spirit, is openess and intellect beyond his years. Would you be so kind and give me a small synopsis of Chap. 7?
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 1:05 PM | Link to this
I plan on buying that book. I loved his spirit, is openess and intellect beyond his years. Would you be so kind and give me a small synopsis of Chap. 7?
By Becky
January 19, 2009 1:11 PM | Link to this
Yes, kids have been in the White House for over 200 years & yes it’s still standing, so this isn’t a NEWS FLASH..It’s just that this time around, it’s a major change..
Everything about the new President & his family will be nickpicked just because of him being the first biracial man in the White House..
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 1:16 PM | Link to this
It’s just that this time around, it’s a major change.. Why does the color of his skin make it a “major” change? Was it a “major change” when Jimmy Carter and his family moved in? Was it a major change when the Bushes moved in, th Clinton’s? What exactly makes it a major change? Please enlighten me.
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 1:22 PM | Link to this
It’s just that this time around, it’s a major change.. Why does the color of his skin make it a “major” change? Was it a “major change” when Jimmy Carter and his family moved in? Was it a major change when the Bushes moved in, th Clinton’s? What exactly makes it a major change? Please enlighten me.
By Becky
January 19, 2009 1:37 PM | Link to this
I didn’t say that the color of his skin makes it a major change..
What makes me think it’s major, is that we are getting a President that is young(er), with young children & lots of new ideas..
Either way, any time that we get a new President, there will major changes..
So if I offended anyone, that wasn’t my intentions, so please accept my apologies..
By motherjanegoose
January 19, 2009 2:07 PM | Link to this
chapter 7 summarized in a direct quote… “when you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore….that’s a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.”
Great book THE LAST LECTURE by Randy Pausch
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 2:08 PM | Link to this
Ok, I got what you’re saying. I just got caught up in the word “major”.
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 2:13 PM | Link to this
Ok, I got what you’re saying. I just got caught up in the word “major”.
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 2:22 PM | Link to this
Thanks, I definitely remember him saying that. To think that you’ve gone astray and no one deems it appropriate to pull your coat…that definitely is a bad place to be and the beginning of a dangerous individual.
Becky, again, I’m the one who owes you an apology. Sorry!
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 2:27 PM | Link to this
Thanks, I definitely remember him saying that. To think that you’ve gone astray and no one deems it appropriate to pull your coat…that definitely is a bad place to be and the beginning of a dangerous individual.
Becky, again, I’m the one who owes you an apology. Sorry!
By Becky
January 19, 2009 2:48 PM | Link to this
Apology accepted..To me that’s the good part of this blog..We don’t always have to agree, but we can let each other know that & then move on..
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 3:11 PM | Link to this
Ok, seems like it’s time for a topic change. Let’s see:
Anybody have a parenting question for Momania?
By Kool-Aid House
January 19, 2009 3:17 PM | Link to this
Ok, seems like it’s time for a topic change. Let’s see:
Anybody have a parenting question for Momania?
By Active Duty Mom
January 19, 2009 4:50 PM | Link to this
From Mrs. Warren at 10:23 AM: “And you should know not to sit in an antique chair at the White House, regardless of whether it is roped off or not.”
Agreed and sorry Theresa, no sympathy for you here. Rose is 7 years old. She is old enough to know better and you are her mother. General rule of thumb for most museums and other historical and cultural attractions: do not touch unless there is a sign expressly stating that it is okay to do so. Period.
By DB
January 19, 2009 7:25 PM | Link to this
Those girls will be shadowed 365/24/7 by Secret Service and nannies — I’m not worried about the Aubusson carpets. :-) It’s a house — a nice house, but it’s just a house. I’m sure the family living quarters on the 3rd floor will be somewhat childproofed, but when you have servants that lay your child’s beautifully pressed clothes out for them every evening, I’m not going to waste a lot of time feeling sorry for Michelle. :-)
By letsjustmoveon
January 21, 2009 12:02 PM | Link to this
It really doesn’t matter whether Obama is black, white, purple or green. He is something different than what we had before. Can he change the world, not by himself. This is just a waste of time, going back and forth about whether or not he is an African American, black, white, whatever!! who gives a damn!! Can’t we all just agree that he is a man that can possibly make changes!! He has not said one time he is the 1st black president, the media labled him that. He is not the president for black people, white people, yellow or red!! He is the president of all people, whether you voted for him or not, whether you like him or not, does not change the fact that he is the President right now. Whatever mistakes he makes/whatever accomplishments he achieves, he is still a man!! Simple as that. We all say we want to move past race and learn to accept one another, the only way to do that is to remove all lables. Accept that we are all different, we are the way God wanted us to be!! We had no choice in choosing our parents, our genetics, race, personality traits, nothing!! We are all designed in HIS image (Not Barack’s image)the Lord and Savior. For those of you that have an issue with someone being black, white, rich, poor, fat, skinny, whatever your issue is, you need to take it up with God!! We have no right to judge people, as we all have our own issues to deal with. His campaign is about unity, hope and working together. He didn’t say he was only working for black people or minorities, he said “We all have to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.” Let’s try to make the best of this situation, let’s pray for him and his family, and each other. You would be amazed at the difference we can all make in each other’s lives. Be blessed everyone.
By mamaj
February 3, 2009 3:31 PM | Link to this
To: “let’sjustmoveon”, you hit the nail right on the head, and I hope it does some good. I can never figure out how a simple blog about children messing up the White House can bring out the racism that some claim not to have, but that’s a topic for another time. And by the way Rod, my spell check also works on the blogs.