Malia, Sasha start school with photographers

Washington: President-elect Barack Obama's two daughters were whisked quietly past waiting photographers into their new schools on Monday. If custom is any guide, the news media will keep their distance now that they have captured 10-year-old Malia in her puffy pink jacket and 7-year-old Sasha with her pigtails and pink camouflage backpack.

But protecting the privacy of US presidential children has always been difficult.

Even if White House photographers are no problem for the Obamas, there are still the paparazzi to worry about, as illustrated by the beach "beefcake" photos of a shirtless president-elect taken during the Obama family vacation.

Then there is any seventh grader with a cell phone camera and Facebook page.

"It is an exaggerated example of what parents face routinely when their kids are online," said Carolyn Jabs, who writes a syndicated column called Growing Up Online.

"For the Obama girls, that is a given that it will get out of hand."

Blogging

Blogs have already critiqued what every member of the family wears. A bad hair day, schoolyard gossip or a manipulated photo can cause problems for any child, Jabs said. Imagine if the greater free world were watching. "Mean things about them online are going to be problematic," she said. "They're going to have to develop a thicker skin in the way all celebrities do."

At Sidwell Friends, children are not allowed cell phones at school, which should keep the girls shielded at least through the school day.

"We do hold students accountable for cyberbehaviour," said Associate Head of School Ellis Turner. "I think our students understand that we expect them to be responsible Internet users." Facebook requires users to be at least 13 and MySpace 14.

The school will not talk about special security precautions but has experience with the Secret Service from former students Chelsea Clinton and Al Gore III, the son of former Vice President Al Gore.

Amy Carter's trips to public school became "a pretty big circus" with photographers lying in wait, said Doug Wead, a former aide to President George H.W. Bush and author of All the President's Children. Bill and Hillary Clinton took the advice of Jacqueline Kennedy to establish strict privacy for daughter Chelsea.

Those rules have generally held: NBC television's Today show crew left Sidwell Friends on Monday even before the girls arrived.