President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama want their teenage daughters to get minimum wage jobs to build their characters just like they did when they were younger.
In a Parade magazine cover story this week, the Obamas said that Malia, 15, and Sasha, 13, must learn early in life what it feels like to do really hard work with not enough pay.
“We are looking for opportunities for them to feel as if going to work and getting a paycheck is not always fun, not always stimulating, not always fair,” said the president. “But that’s what most folks go through every single day.”
The first lady added, “That’s what life is. I think every kid needs to get a taste of what it’s like to do that real hard work.”
Malia, who will turn 16 on July 4, has reportedly been working as a production assistant on a Steven Spielberg-produced television show this summer, according to Reuters.
The Obamas took part in the interview to promote their Working Families summit in Washington, D.C., on Monday, focusing on the need for affordable childcare, paid family leave, raising the minimum wage, and equal pay for men and women.
They said that before they got their Ivy League law degrees and started earning a good living, they both worked at minimum-wage jobs.
