Stop everything and read the ace parenting tips Michelle Obama gave Meghan
You may or may not know that Duchess Meghan took a spin as guest editor of Vogue’s September issue. She and her high profile husband Prince Harry interviewed a number of favourite people described as Forces For Change (including Dr Jane Goodall) and the former US First Lady was on that list.
A masterclass in letting go
“Over a casual lunch of chicken tacos and my ever-burgeoning bump, I asked Michelle if she would help me with this secret project,” Meghan explained.
The pair talked about a number of things, with Michelle providing some poignant advice to the then-pregnant Meghan about the realities of parenting.
Describing motherhood as “a masterclass in letting go” she noted that children are independent little beings and that parents are often learning as much as their offspring are.
“Try as we might, there’s only so much we can control. And, boy, have I tried – especially at first.” Michelle – who is mum to two daughters Sasha and Malia with the former US President Barack Obama – told Meghan.
“As mothers, we just don’t want anything or anyone to hurt our babies. But life has other plans. Bruised knees, bumpy roads and broken hearts are part of the deal,” she continues.
“What’s both humbled and heartened me is seeing the resiliency of my daughters.”
Raising individuals
It’s this independence and resilience that parents should endeavour to foster, Michelle suggests.
“Motherhood has taught me that, most of the time, my job is to give them the space to explore and develop into the people they want to be,” she told Meg. “Not who I want them to be or who I wish I was at that age, but who they are deep inside.”
Reflecting on raising her now quite grown-up girls, Michelle says that she’s got some real clarity on what her role ideally is.
“Motherhood has also taught me that my job is not to bulldoze a path for them in an effort to eliminate all possible adversity. But instead, I need to be a safe and consistent place for them to land when they inevitably fail; and to show them, again and again, how to get up on their own.”
Those magical early years
She also gave Meghan some advice on navigating those much earlier years.
“When Malia and Sasha were newborns, Barack and I could lose hours just watching them sleep,” Michelle admitted.
“We loved to listen to the little sounds they’d make – especially the way they cooed when they were deep into dreaming. Don’t get me wrong, early parenthood is exhausting … But there is something so magical about having a baby in the house … Savour it all.”
The September issue of British Vogue which was guest edited by HRH The Duchess of Sussex is now available for digital download in the App Store or buy the magazine at your usual outlets. Read the full interview – and others from Meghan’s Forces of Change series – in Vogue.
