The media’s eye is now focused on the daughters of President Barack Obama and waiting to see what Malia and Sasha’s lives will be like in years to come.

Living in the White House, the young children of presidents are hidden behind four walls, away from the ever-watchful media under 24-hour supervision by the Secret Service. The constant pressure and life of restrictions as the son or daughter of the president can lead to drug abuse and run-ins with the law.

Society has a tendency to believe that presidential kids have it all, but growing up in the White House without being able to play with friends at a young age sounds depressing.

How have other kids who spent parts of their childhoods in the White House fared?

The line of presidential kids includes screw-ups, lawyers and some celebrities hounded by the paparazzi.

A son of a fashionable first lady and President John Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr. was named “America’s most eligible bachelor” by many top magazines.

Kennedy, Jr. graduated from Brown University and obtained his law degree from New York University’s School of Law.

Not a screw-up however, he did suffer a tragic death in an aviation accident – he followed what many considered the Kennedy family curse.

However, there is always the common screw-up and rebellious teen. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, was known for her attractive personality. She also managed to embarrass Theodore.

According to the website Kaboose.com, Alice would smoke on the roof of the White House, gamble, and have late night “companies” with men. She was also known for having a boa constrictor as a pet.

Like Longworth, former President George W. Bush’s daughters Barbara and Jenna were also members of the rebellious presidential kids gang. In 2001, Barbara and Jenna Bush were involved in underage drinking…oops.

I guess former President Bush was busy manufacturing stories of weapons of mass destruction and forgot to teach his daughters the consequences of underage drinking.

Now President Obama’s daughters Sasha and Malia are under constant watch by a media industry wanting to document their lives in the White House.

What will their lives be like?

In recent interviews, First Lady Michelle Obama said she will do everything necessary to make sure her daughters have a “normal life.”

But how is that possible?

They are already attending private schools and will probably end up graduating from Ivy League universities. This, in itself, is already far from a “normal life.”

President Obama himself has become an icon. Many Americans are wearing his face on T-shirts or sporting it on buttons, bags and pens. He is more famous now than leftist icon Che Guevara.

At this point, Sasha and Malia can only hope for a normal life as they live in the White House and witness their father’s successes and failures.

Vanessa Guerrero can be reached at [email protected]