President Obama shares parenting tips with ABC’s George Stephanopolous. “We’re loving but firm,” Obama said. “Sasha and Malia know that disobeying your parents has consequences. When they push us too far, Michelle or I will just tell them, “That’s it. No more American Dream for you.”

President Obama on Tuesday told ABC’s George Stephanopolous that Americans should not feel sorry that their children will be stuck with more than $16 trillion in debt, noting that: “I have two teenage girls. I know how it is. They can get a little mouthy and disrespectful sometimes.”

“Sasha and Malia are getting to that age where they think they know everything,” Mr. Obama said. “So Michelle and I have made a decision as parents to, you know, if they’re so smart — let them figure out how to pay down the national debt.”

The Obamas have experimented with a variety of discipline methods from ‘time out’, to grounding, to taking away electronic devices for a few hours, but the president said, “Nothing we’ve tried has the lasting effects of a lifetime of crushing tax rates, crumbling infrastructure and bankrupt entitlement programs. We call it ‘tough love’.”

The president said he’s tired of Republicans talking like the next generation is “a bunch of little angels who never disobey, and who need to be protected from the consequences of their misbehavior.”

“If the kids can’t obey their parents,” Obama said, “maybe they can do without the America dream for a generation or two. That’ll teach them.”

The president added that when Sasha and Malia complain about this form of discipline, he and the First Lady, say, ‘If you think we’re harsh, wait until you’re living under Chinese communist rules’.”