Michelle Obama Quotes on Family and Daughters

We are thrilled to share the next answer in our series with First Lady Michelle Obama. Since we're in back-to-school mode, this week we're focusing on education and women's health. Here's the first lady in her own words about her daughters:

Circle of Moms reader Crystal Dawn asks, "How have you encouraged your girls to think for themselves, be true to themselves, and stand up for what they believe in?"

"Our girls are pretty inquisitive, and Barack and I try to encourage that and reinforce what they're learning in school when we're together.

For example, people are often surprised to hear this, but we have dinner together just about every night at 6:30 as a family. Barack often goes back to work right afterwards, but as long as he's not traveling, he'll come upstairs from the office, and I'll put down what I'm doing, and we'll spend that time together as a family. We usually talk about what's going on in school and in their daily lives, and the girls don't hesitate to grill Barack on whatever they're learning about.

We also try to show our girls the importance of being active citizens in our democracy. Of course, that's a little easier to demonstrate when their dad is president, and they see firsthand how important it is to make your voice heard in our democratic process by voting."

We are still taking questions! There are three ways to participate:

We're so excited to hear what's on your mind and to speak to First Lady Michelle Obama together.