Perks and Travails Await Rising First Kids

A private swimming pool and bowling alley await the Obama girls in Washington.

ByABC News
November 10, 2008, 11:40 AM

Nov. 10, 2008 -- Inside the sprawling 55,000-square-foot mansion at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. lies what most children can only dream of: private bowling alley, movie theater, children's garden and a personal chef to scoop the perfect bowl of ice cream at all hours of the day and night.

These are just some of the luxuries that await President-elect Obama's daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, when they take up residence in the White House in January.

Though the move-in date is still months away, the Obamas are wasting no time preparing for their move from their historic Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park to the most prestigious address in Washington.

Obama met with President Bush this afternoon while his wife, soon-to-be first lady Michelle Obama, toured the White House residence and reportedly scouted out schools for the girls.

Everything from which schools they will attend to which beds they will sleep in -- not to mention which of the 16 bedrooms they will call their own -- are all aspects of living in the first house that Malia and Sasha can look forward to.

But being the first daughters will have some drawbacks, too.

In addition to following the rules their parents have already set for them -- including making their beds each morning -- Malia and Sasha will also have to adjust to life in a presidential fishbowl.