Filed under: Celebrity News, Personal Finance, News, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox
I was happy to hear the other day that President Barack Obama is toying with the idea of letting his
daughters get babysitting jobs in the not-too-distant future. The President's daughters, Malia and Sasha, are now 12 and 9, respectively.
In an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" program, President Obama said: "What I'm doing now with Malia and Sasha is they're getting an allowance. They're starting to get old enough where they may be able earn some money babysitting," the President noted, adding: "They've got their own savings accounts."
One advantage of being the President of the United States is that you've got a huge platform from which you can not only help set the national agenda, you can also set a good example for Americans -- and indeed citizens everywhere.
By talking to his daughters -- and to the public at large -- about Malia and Sasha getting jobs, the President reinforces to everyone that money should be
earned, not simply doled out, even in well-to-do families. Kids especially need to understand that money doesn't just magically appear. Sure, some people might inherit money, or marry into it. But most of us have to acquire money the old-fashioned way: by working to earn it.
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Pampered Princesses
Malia and Sasha Obama: The unexpected stars of their dad's presidential campaign, Malia and Sasha Obama dazzled with their beauty, fun personalities and seemingly down-to-earth natures. Since their worldwide introduction nearly two years ago, everything about the first daughters, from their clothes to their hair to their school, has been incessantly documented and admired. But through it all they've seemed to handle the pressures of life in the spotlight with good nature and grace.
Pete Souza, Official White House Photo
WireImage.com
BlackVoices.com
Pampered Princesses
Jessie James and D'Lila Star Combs: The two littlest Combs' are spared no expense in their Los Angeles upbringing: shopping sprees at hip boutique Kitson, gold nameplate necklaces before they were even able to read their names, plus all the love and attention from their former model mommy Kim Porter and all-around-fly-guy dad Sean "Diddy" Combs, not to mention a host of older siblings (between mom and dad they've got four). And just because they're the youngest of the clan, doesn't mean they come last, especially since they're always dad's guest stars of choice for Diddy TV.
Pampered Princesses
Ming Lee and Aoki Lee Simmons: Born to fashion and hip-hop royalty Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons, these little stars aren't just princesses; they're moguls-in-training. And since the girls have been in the Phat Farm-Baby Phat spotlight practically since birth (their mom ends all of her runway shows with the girls in tow), it's no wonder that they now star in Baby Phat Girlz campaigns and host their own fashion shows.
Pampered Princesses
Ava Dash She was born into a pedigree fit for a princess, what with fashion designer mom Rachel Roy and music and fashion exec dad Damon Dash, not to mention "Uncle Jay-Z," who's godfather to her older brother, Damon Dash Jr. And Ava seems to enjoy living the good life in Manhattan with her mother and younger sister, Talullah, attending movie premieres, fashion shows, posing for magazines and traveling the world.
Pampered Princesses
Keke Palmer: Laying claim to the black Disney princess throne handed down by Raven-Symone, Keke stars in the hit show 'True Jackson, VP' while still making time for a film career ('Akeelah and the Bee') and a budding singing career (she sings the theme song for 'True' and her work has also appeared on the soundtrack to 'Night at the Museum'). Beyond her talent, she's growing into a media favorite as well, with images from her life out-and-about in L.A. constantly popping up in blogs and magazines.
Pampered Princesses
Malia and Sasha Obama: The unexpected stars of their dad's presidential campaign, Malia and Sasha Obama dazzled with their beauty, fun personalities and seemingly down-to-earth natures. Since their worldwide introduction nearly two years ago, everything about the first daughters, from their clothes to their hair to their school, has been incessantly documented and admired. But through it all they've seemed to handle the pressures of life in the spotlight with good nature and grace.
Pampered Princesses
Willow Smith: Blessed with her mother Jada Pinkett-Smith's beauty and dad Will Smith's personality, Willow is a princess to watch. She grabbed media attention in 2009 when she performed at the Nobel Peace Prize concert with only half of a head of hair, a la older stars like Cassie and Rihanna. Along with brother Jaden, she's also a mini-philanthropist, serving as a Hasbro youth ambassador to project Zambia, which helps African kids orphaned by AIDS.
Pampered Princesses
Reginae Carter: Rapper Li'l Wayne's oldest child spent the first decade or so of her life in the background, but in the past couple of years she's stepped into the spotlight with appearances on her mom's reality show, 'Tiny and Toya,' performing in the hip-hop group OMG Girlz (which also features Tameka "Tiny" Cottle's daughter Zonnique) and even appearing onstage with her dad and rapper Drake during 2009's BET Awards.
Pampered Princesses
Vanessa and Angela Simmons: Like their younger cousins Ming and Aoki, Rev. Run of Run DMC's daughters were raised in hip-hop's royal family. And as the eldest heirs to the family fortune, the sisters have already hit the ground running to make the family proud. In the past few years they've starred in two reality shows ('Run's House' and spin-off 'Daddy's Girls'), launched a successful accessories line, Pastry, and grown into bonafide socialites, hitting shows during New York Fashion Week and attending events in Los Angeles.
Pampered Princesses
Yara Shahidi: With her starring role in 'Imagine That' alongside Eddie Murphy and Nicole Ari Parker and last year's Gap Kids campaign, Yara's well on her way to mainstream stardom. Born to model Keri Salter-Shahidi, she started modeling when she was just a baby with her mom (the two even appeared in a McDonald's commercial together) before venturing into acting. She's starring in another film this year, 'Unthinkable' with Sam Jackson, so we're betting this little princess is here to stay.
Pampered Princesses
Chudney Ross: The daughter of Diana Ross and music exec Robert Silberstein, Chudney makes no apologies for her privileged background or the instant fame it's brought her. Like older sis Tracee Ellis Ross, she doesn't let her superstar mother do all the work though. After graduating from Georgetown University she taught for years in public schools before moving to Los Angeles to take up her post in the city's famous daughter club.
Pampered Princesses
As a
Money Coach and a parent of three young children -- who are 12, 10 and 4 years old -- I was gratified to know that the President is teaching his children financial literacy. Even though the Obama girls will grow up in a very wealthy household, the President clearly wants to guard against them developing affluenza. He also mentioned that he's educating his girls about savings, interest and money-management. We should all encourage children to adopt good financial habits, the earlier the better.
My four-year-old, Alexis, enjoys buying "treats" from WalMart or getting new clothes from Target. But she also loves to save her coins and dollars bills, and have me read to her kids books that are related to money-management. One such set of books is a series of money-management titles I co-wrote for children, called
The Millionaire Kids Club.
As I explained in
an interview on FOX Business Network, these
multicultural books, aimed at children between the ages of 5 and 12, teach kids not only that money is earned, but that kids have choices with money: namely that they can save it, spend it, invest it, or donate it.
Frankly, that's a lesson a lot of us adults need to learn too.
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Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, an award-winning financial news journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter for CNBC, has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times, as well as magazines ranging from Essence and Redbook to Black Enterprise and Smart Money. Check out her New York Times best seller
'Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom.'
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Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, an award-winning financial news journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter for CNBC, has been featured in the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times, as well as magazines ranging from Essence and Redbook to Black Enterprise and Smart Money. Check out her New York Times best seller 'Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom.'