Michelle Obama has never shied away from talking about the trials and tribulations of parenting – and how her husband’s presidency impacted raising their daughters.

The former First Lady, 61, has shared several anecdotes about bringing up Malia, 27, and Sasha, 24, in the White House alongside Barack Obamaincluding when she had to remind him about his role as a father.

In a previous episode of IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, Michelle recalled calling out her husband when she ‘thought he wasn’t doing enough’ by singing a pointed tune.

‘I’d start singing: “Cats in the cradle and the silver spoon” because that song is so profound,’ she told guest Bruce Springsteen while talking about parent-child relationships.

She continued, referencing the lyrics to Harry Chaplin’s song: ‘”When you coming home, (dad)? Don’t know when.” I was like, “You’re going to look up, and the girls will be gone.”‘

‘Because there is a little window that parents don’t understand – a time when your children even want to be bothered with you,’ she pointed out.

recently, on Wednesday’s episode of IMO, Michelle looked back on what it was like having teenagers while Barack, now 64, was the President of the United States.

Michelle shared a sweet story about Malia and Sasha having Secret Service agents – quipping that Barack was particularly fond of this.

‘Our girls had Secret Service agents until Malia went to college, which we were thrilled about in the teen years,’ the podcast host joked.

‘Barack was like, “I’m going to get reelected just so that my girls have Secret Service in the teen years,”‘ she recalled.

However, Michelle said she understood her daughters needed some room to make mistakes – and learn from them.

‘Nobody’s sneaking, doing anything,’ she told her guests, NBA legends Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes.

She continued: ‘But at the same time, I had to give them enough rope to sneak… you’ve got to learn what trouble is before you run into it, you know?’

Michelle added she thinks it’s important to have ‘the baby trouble’ growing up.

‘The trouble of being at the wrong party at the wrong time. You got to learn how to drive. You got to get a ticket. You got to get through an airport by yourself,’ she listed.

‘The trouble where the ramifications aren’t big enough to ruin your life,’ her brother and co-host agreed.

The author also made a snide remark regarding the former president with a barbed comment that politics will ‘suck’ the life out of parenting.

The snarky comment was made while the author was talking to guests, with Matt mentioning he would potentially dabble in politics – but expressed his concern about how it would affect his parenting.

‘Do you think you might get into politics?’ the former first lady asked.

‘I could, I love politics,’ Matt, 45, replied, adding he’s particularly interested in helping create policies that help low-income areas and initially wanted to be the mayor of his hometown by 50.

However, the former Golden State Warriors player acknowledged the commitment it takes.

‘I have a six-year-old and 11-month-old (and) 16-year-old twins,’ he continued. ‘So daddy duty is first and foremost.’

‘Absolutely,’ Michelle quickly responded. ‘Politics will suck the life out of that,’ in what appeared to be a pointed barb at her spouse.

The Obamas – whose marriage has been plagued with divorce rumors over recent months – raised their daughters in the White House from 2009 to 2017 while Barack served two terms as President. However, it appears that to Michelle, his commitment may have put a strain on his parenting.

The comment comes as ongoing rumors continue to swirl that she and Barack are having marital issues.

Speculation over the state of their relationship began after her decision to skip both Jimmy Carter’s funeral and Donald Trump‘s inauguration – with Michelle insisting they were decisions she made for herself.

Her absence at the high-profile political events stoked divorce rumors, as did the former president’s admission in April that he was in a ‘deep deficit’ with his wife.