Exclusive: Michelle Obama and Jill Biden Share Their Families' Secret Holiday Traditions
Yahoo! Shine went to the White House for an exclusive interview with First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, where they talked about Joining Forces, the White House initiative to support military families. But Yahoo! and Yahoo! Shine readers submitted nearly 5,000 questions, and so we touched on a few other topics as well. Parenting in the public eye can be tough, but both the Obamas and the Bidens have certain traditions that help keep things simple and down-to-earth during the hectic holiday season, and they shared their secrets with Shine:
During the interview, the First Lady and Dr. Biden also offered up some insight about what it's like to parent while being a public figure. "I don't think that the challenges that we face or that the mistakes or worries or concerns... I don't think it has anything to do with this, right? " The First Lady said, gesturing to the White House and the cameras and the handlers packed into the room during the interview. "It just has to do with the worries of being mothers. And I think that it's universal." (You can watch the video here.)
Dr. Biden-who has raised three children with Vice President Joe Biden and whose daughter, Ashley, just announced her engagement-says that if she had to do it all over again, there are a few things she'd do differently-or, at least, do more of. "I think it's really important to give your children good self-esteem," she told Shine. "So I think probably complimenting them more, giving them more positive reinforcement. I think that's so important for kids."
From her own experience as a teacher, Dr. Biden says she knows that positive reinforcement builds self-esteem, no matter how old you are. "So I think it's doing more of that, that parents should not like get so busy with their lives that they forget that, each and every day to say something really positive to their child," she says.
Stay tuned: The rest of our exclusive Veterans Day interview with the First Lady and Dr. Biden, focused on how you can help military families and what Michelle Obama would do if her daughters decided to enlist in the armed services, will run right here on Yahoo! Shine on Friday, November 11.
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