Growing Up Obama

People Mag features The Obamas and gives us an inside look on what life is like for the future First Daughters, Malia and Sasha. PEOPLE: Someone told me today that you don't do birthday presents. Michelle: No, because we spend hundreds of dollars on a birthday party and movie tickets and pizza and popcorn ... Barack: That sleepover is enough. We want to teach some limits to them. And their friends bring over presents. Michelle: They get so much stuff that it just becomes numbing. Malia believes there is still a Santa Claus even though she's a little wary because some of her friends are non-believers. But Malia says, "Ma, I know there is a Santa because there's no way you'd buy me all that stuff." [Laughing] So what does a slumber party at the Obama house look like? Barack: They're pretty noisy. Michelle: The older they get, they just talk a lot. But they're at the age where they're pretty self-sufficient. [For Malia's birthday] we're going to go swimming, see Wall-E, make pizzas, have sundaes. Barack: I usually go for the swim but this time I want to go to the movie just because Wall-E has gotten great reviews. I find actually that children's movies are the best movies these days. But I'll probably, after that, peel off until the cake. Michelle: [Laughs] "Peel off." How cute are they? I can actually see Michelle laughing at Barack for saying "Peel Off"...Peel off Barack? HAHAHAHAHAHA! Do you give your girls an allowance? Michelle: Sorta, kinda. [Laughs] Barack: I'm out of town all the time, so Malia will say, "Hey, you owe me 10 weeks!" ... Originally, we were giving her a dollar a week as long as she did all her chores. It turns out that she's been doing her chores even without prompting from the allowance, which makes me feel guilty that she's been carrying on her end of the bargain and I haven't been as consistent. What types of chores? Barack: Setting the table, rinsing the dishes. Michelle: They have to clean up their half of the third floor where they play. They have a closet of toys they have to clean up. They have to practice their piano every day. What does discipline look like in your house? Barack: Mommy raising her voice. Michelle: It's usually a lecture. It's a lot of conversation. Or it's separating them. Or it's saying if you guys can't decide nicely what program to watch, then you don't get to watch anything. It's sort of pulling away a privilege. But in all honesty, we don't have to discipline – Barack: If you ask them to do something, they're like any other kid ... Michelle: They'll whine a little bit. Barack: They'll test boundaries. But if you say, "Guys, this is what we need to do ..." Michelle: An example of this is one night I was going out, I had to do a fund-raiser, and I told Malia, "You guys really need to have an early bedtime because you've got to get up tomorrow and have a busy day." So my mom was there, and my mom doesn't adhere to bedtime. She's kinda, "Well, maybe you wanna start taking your bath..." But that night, she said she sat down to watch TV with them and they both got up, turned off the TV and left. And my mom was like, "Where are you going?" And they said, "We have got to go to bed early today, Grandma." And they went downstairs, took their baths and went to bed, and my mom was just stunned. I love them. To read more of the interview click: Daddy, I don't care who you are. You owe me $10.