# Do White House kids have chores? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 8, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817 "2008-11-08T16:16:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/1 "2008-11-08T16:16:10Z")
**Captain Carrot** had a good question in another thread, and I thought we might get some answers if we gave it its own thread. > [@Obama's Other Appointment](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-other-appointment/471288/40): > > [hijack]How has the WH staff handled chores for kids in previous administrations? I think having your kids do chores is important to instill a number of values, but don’t they have people to take care of the menial tasks that are usually assigned to children in other households?[/hijack] Any fans of White House minutiae that might know? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/2 "2008-11-08T17:55:42Z")
Dunno what the track record is like for former juvenile inhabitants of the White House, but [this article](http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20221617,00.html) contains a list of the rules that the Obama girls are expected to follow in their current home: > [@](#): > > Obama House Rules > > 1. “No whining, arguing or annoying teasing,” says Michelle Obama. > > 2. Make the bed. “Doesn’t have to look good—just throw the sheet over it,” says Mom. > > 3. Set your own alarm clock. “They get themselves up, get their own clothes,” says Sasha and Malia’s grandmother Marian Robinson. “They’re very easy to take care of; there’s not much left for me to do!” > > 4. Keep playroom toy closet clean. > > 5. Allowance from Dad for doing chores: $1 per week. “I’m out of town all the time,” says Barack, “so Malia will say, ‘Hey, you owe me 10 weeks!’” > > 6. No birthday or Christmas presents from Mom and Dad, who spend “hundreds” on birthday slumber parties and, as Barack puts it, “want to teach some limits.” Says Michelle: “Malia says, ‘I know there is a Santa because there’s no way you’d buy me all that stuff.’” > > 7. Lights out at 8:30. “They got an extra half hour when they were ready to read on their own,” says Michelle. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/3 "2008-11-08T18:49:42Z")
If nothing else, I bet they get assigned feeding and walking the new dog. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/4 "2008-11-09T01:37:07Z")
Nice rules. However, why doesn’t Malia have to mow the yard and Sasha weed the Rose Garden? There needs to be some outdoor work. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/5 "2008-11-09T02:23:13Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > **Captain Carrot** had a good question in another thread, and I thought we might get some answers if we gave it its own thread. > Any fans of White House minutiae that might know? Well, I’m a fan of parenting. I am pretty sure the Chief Executive and her husband decide what the chores are, not the White House Staff. And I’d be stunned if the Obama urchins don’t get their own list. The two parents seem to have the concept of family and parenting firmly in their grasp. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/6 "2008-11-09T04:44:51Z")
I’ve often wondered if the White House is basically an mother-in-law apartment type of setup. It seems it would have to be, but how could they possibly accommodate the varied family setups available to any incoming President. I assume there a whole “this is my home” part of the white house. Does it have it’s own yard? Is it possible to simulate a normal home environment? Or do they just kinda wander down to the kitchen when they want a snack? Basically, everything I know about the living quarters I learned from West Wing. It’s hard to make a kid do dishes on a good day, much less after a State dinner. 😛 ETA: [whitehousemuseum.org domain name is for sale. Inquire now.](http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/Floor2.htm) Evidently, there is plenty of room for the kids. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/7 "2008-11-09T06:20:00Z")
The Residence does have its own small kitchen separate from the main White House kitchen (it’s on the upper left in the floorplan that **Auntbeast** linked. Remember, the bulk of the White House is the West and East Wing offices, and the public portions of the Residence used for official functions and meetings and whatnot. The upper floors of the Residence are the private areas for the family, and comparatively not that big. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/8 "2008-11-09T12:42:25Z")
I wonder if it qualifies as a home-based business. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/9 "2008-11-09T12:53:52Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > If nothing else, I bet they get assigned feeding and walking the new dog. 🙂 I wonder what the Secret Service will think of that. Do **they** really want two little girls wandering around the grounds late at night? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/10 "2008-11-09T13:58:07Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > Well, I’m a fan of parenting. I am pretty sure the Chief Executive and her husband decide what the chores are, not the White House Staff. > > And I’d be stunned if the Obama urchins don’t get their own list. The two parents seem to have the concept of family and parenting firmly in their grasp. Sure. But I’m wondering how that works logistically. We’re ( **CC** and I) assuming they have housekeeping, a chief cook and bottlewasher, laundry services, etc. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. But if they do, how do you look Mrs. Potts in the eye and tell her she’s out of a job because you want your girls to clean their own rooms and load the dishwasher after dinner? I suppose this isn’t an exclusive “problem” for the First Family. What do wealthy people with domestic help do? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/11 "2008-11-09T15:58:47Z")
I’ve read a lot about the presidents and life in the White House over the years, and you know, I’ve never read about chores being given to First Kids. Plenty about their zany hijinks (Lincoln’s kids and Theodore Roosevelt’s kids were _very_ high-spirited), but not about chores. Wouldn’t surprise me, though, that some have had them. Most good parents I know do assign chores, and I expect the Obamas will be no different. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/12 "2008-11-09T20:27:00Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Plenty about their zany hijinks (Lincoln’s kids and Theodore Roosevelt’s kids were _very_ high-spirited), I also heard that Ford’s two youngest, Steven and Susan (who were teenagers at the time) used to prank their Secret Service detail all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/13 "2008-11-09T20:48:39Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I also heard that Ford’s two youngest, Steven and Susan (who were teenagers at the time) used to prank their Secret Service detail all the time. True. Susan complained about how awkward it was as a teenager to have a USSS agent shadowing her on dates… and later ended up marrying one of them! ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/14 "2008-11-09T22:35:35Z")
Not quite in the spirit of what I understand the OP to be asking, but what I read of the Obama household rules, and seeing pics of the pres-elect and Michele attending parent-teacher meetings the week he was elected, I thought what a wonderful example of parenting they presented. I hpe a good deal of America takes note. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/15 "2008-11-10T06:51:07Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Sure. But I’m wondering how that works logistically. We’re ( **CC** and I) assuming they have housekeeping, a chief cook and bottlewasher, laundry services, etc. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. But if they do, how do you look Mrs. Potts in the eye and tell her she’s out of a job because you want your girls to clean their own rooms and load the dishwasher after dinner? > > I suppose this isn’t an exclusive “problem” for the First Family. What do wealthy people with domestic help do? And that leads to another interesting question … how much in the way of pure domestic chores _should_ a child of priviledge do? Assuming that most presidential kids are unlikely to fall out of the demographic where they can afford to hire their own domestic help once they are adults, does it matter if they don’t know how to vacuum a floor or clean a bathroom? Now, mind you, my pinko commie side is yelling YES, YES! dammit, EVERYONE should know how to maintain their own house (even if they don’t actually do so with any degree of competence - see, for example, me :o). But I’m having a hard time coming up with a logical justification for that feeling… ---
**Author:** ![Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buckler_of_Swashing)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/16 "2008-11-10T07:32:07Z")
> [@Kimstu's Quoted Rules](#): > > _snip_ > 6) No birthday or Christmas presents from Mom and Dad, who spend “hundreds” on birthday slumber parties and, as Barack puts it, “want to teach some limits.” Says Michelle: “Malia says, ‘I know there is a Santa because there’s no way you’d buy me all that stuff.’” > _snip_ I’m confused - The first sentence seems to imply that they don’t get presents but Malia’s comment in the second sentence seems to imply that they do. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/17 "2008-11-10T09:14:41Z")
> [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](#): > > I’m confused - The first sentence seems to imply that they don’t get presents but Malia’s comment in the second sentence seems to imply that they do. Seems to me they only get Christmas presents from Santa Claus, and not any with “from mom and dad” written on them. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/18 "2008-11-10T14:25:01Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > And that leads to another interesting question … how much in the way of pure domestic chores _should_ a child of priviledge do? Assuming that most presidential kids are unlikely to fall out of the demographic where they can afford to hire their own domestic help once they are adults, does it matter if they don’t know how to vacuum a floor or clean a bathroom? > > Now, mind you, my pinko commie side is yelling YES, YES! dammit, EVERYONE should know how to maintain their own house (even if they don’t actually do so with any degree of competence - see, for example, me :o). But I’m having a hard time coming up with a logical justification for that feeling… I think that learning how to do domestic tasks is only one reason why children should do chores. The more important reason is so that they can contribute something of value to the family, instead of being time, money and energy sucking leaches. No matter what your social strata, I think that learning how to be a participatory member of a group instead of a tag-along or a moocher is an important thing. I think some of the greediness and ingratitude we see both in the malls and on television shows about the rich, young and beautiful can be traced back to their not feeling a part of their families so much as a beneficiary of them. No matter how much money you make, knowing that you’re responsible for something getting done that benefits other people, and knowing that from a young age, can contribute to a humbleness that makes people good people, even if it’s not entirely \*practically \*necessary when one is wealthy. Plus, you just never know. I mean, \*really \*know. Something horrible could always happen to the portfolio, or you or your parent could go off the deep edge and sever your relationship and your financial connection. The world has a lot of formerly rich people in it. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/19 "2008-11-10T17:16:02Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I suppose this isn’t an exclusive “problem” for the First Family. What do wealthy people with domestic help do? Strictly anectodally, I can tell you that a guy I went to college with was from a wealthy family with domestic help, and he had no clue how to do his laundry. He paid girls to do it for him. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817/20 "2008-11-10T17:52:42Z")
Oh, it could be a lot worse than that. Famed particle physicist Murray Gell-Mann never learned how to butter his own toast until he got to college. In a panic at finding it not already buttered, he tried it himself, and discovered that it wasn’t too hard. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-white-house-kids-have-chores/471817.md?page=2)