# The White House and Teenage Residents **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218 "2013-03-06T19:53:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/21 "2013-03-07T19:54:13Z")
> [@jonesj2205](#): > > I can’t see the Secret Service being babysitters - that would distract them from their job of actually being on the alert for threats. Yeah, First Families either hire nannies for that or have a relative move in. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/22 "2013-03-07T20:00:45Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Which brings up another thought: what about the parents of the other kids at school? > Most parents want to meet the parents of their kid’s playmates. And if your kid suddenly sits next to an Obama kid in the classroom, I bet you don’t skip out on the PTA meetings like you did the previous years. 🙂 I’m sure that was a factor in the Obamas [choice of Sidwell Friends School](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidwell_Friends). Even if they wanted to send them to a Washington DC public school, choosing one that already had experience with presidential children made more sense (although Amy Carter went to a public school.) ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/23 "2013-03-07T20:35:53Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > The only time I can see where they would be required to intervene would be if the child was physically taken to jail. Not to stop that from happening, but to ensure that the child is not placed in a cell with any other prisoners or otherwise separated from their SS protection. Do you know if there really is a protocol for this? I mean, the negotiation at the time would be fascinating, I’d think. “Hello, officer. I’m not trying to stop you from arresting that young woman, go right ahead, but I want you to know that I have to ride in the cruiser with her when you transport her. And if fact, I’ll need to be holding your gun during the ride. Other than that, just ignore me, keep on as if I wasn’t here. No, I’m not asking you to let her go, in fact, it would be kind of a professional insult to me if she wasn’t arrested. It’s not my job to say whether she deserves it or not; it’s your job. I’ll just need your gun when you do arrest her. Oh, and probably your radio.” ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/24 "2013-03-07T21:38:58Z")
> [@Asympotically\_fat](#): > > Have you seen Project X? LOL:p Probably would have been more apt to happen when the Bush girls lived there, though. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/25 "2013-03-08T03:15:36Z")
For college age adults I think generally the Secret Service _advises_ the President that the best way for them to do their job is for the agents on the Presidential children’s detail to basically be extremely qualified bodyguards. They are there to stop the children from being hurt, kidnapped or etc. They aren’t there to stop them from doing things like smoking pot, underage drinking, having sex etc. Likewise, they aren’t there as spies for the President to watch and report on the children. This is sound advice, because you want the protectee to have no reason to try and ditch their protection. That being said, they **are** Federal agents, if the President ordered them to monitor the children and report every time they looked the wrong way at a bottle of beer I don’t really see how the agents could refuse to do that and keep their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/26 "2013-03-08T03:55:06Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > That being said, they **are** Federal agents, if the President ordered them to monitor the children and report every time they looked the wrong way at a bottle of beer I don’t really see how the agents could refuse to do that and keep their jobs. That all depends on their job descriptions. The US is a republic and not a dictatorship. Even presidents have limits to their personal power. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/27 "2013-03-08T04:44:33Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > …than that _all_ their friends will want to sleepover at the White House. Well, some parents don’t like letting their kid sleep over somewhere where there’s guns in the house. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/28 "2013-03-08T05:57:40Z")
Here’s a question: are minor female children of the president assigned female SS agents? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/29 "2013-03-08T06:11:58Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Gore’s then-17yo son was picked up in 2000 for doing 97 in a 55 mph zone, so even on safety issues, they have their limits. Well, it seems that son certainly ain’t no “conservative” himself, ehh? 🆒 Ehh? ☹ Hello? Hello?? This thing on?? ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/30 "2013-03-08T06:33:02Z")
…as far as secret service being their babysitters, isnt the oldest child in high school? High school kids are too old to be babysat, at that age many are babysitters themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/31 "2013-03-08T07:10:14Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’m sure that was a factor in the Obamas [choice of Sidwell Friends School](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidwell_Friends). Even if they wanted to send them to a Washington DC public school, choosing one that already had experience with presidential children made more sense (although Amy Carter went to a public school.) I wonder how things would work if a presidential child wanted to play sports? Would the SS basically lock down the venue? Same deal whether the game is home or away? If a president’s kid wanted to run cross country, it would be a real pain in the ass to secure the whole course… ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218/32 "2013-03-08T17:44:22Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I wonder how things would work if a presidential child wanted to play sports? Would the SS basically lock down the venue? Same deal whether the game is home or away? If a president’s kid wanted to run cross country, it would be a real pain in the ass to secure the whole course… From what I understand, Malia plays basketball, and the President tries to attend her games. I’m sure that any games he potentially attends are subject to normal Secret Service event security - metal detectors and bag checks, and securing the venue and surrounding area beforehand. But as anyone who has been to a campaign speech can tell you, these people are very skilled and efficient at their jobs, and can get a crowd through quickly. From the Sidwell Friends Wikipedia article: > [@](#): > > Both of United States President Barack Obama’s daughters, Sasha and Malia, and Vice President Joe Biden’s grandchildren attend the school. Previously, President Theodore Roosevelt’s son Archibald, Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia, Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore’s son, Albert Gore III, all graduated from Sidwell Friends. I have no doubt that plenty of sons and daughters of members of Congress, judges, etc attend, and that they are used to supplying a much higher level of security than your average school. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-and-teenage-residents/652218.md?page=1)