Former First Lady Michelle Obama is opening up about a parenting disagreement she once had with her husband, former U.S. President Barack Obama, regarding how best to sleep-train their daughters, Malia and Sasha.
Speaking on the latest episode of her “Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast,” which she co-hosts with her brother Craig Robinson, Michelle candidly discussed their conflicting views on using the Ferber Method—a technique designed to help infants learn to self-soothe and fall asleep independently, even if it involves crying for a time.
“I didn’t want to do it. Barack did it,” Michelle shared. “I wasn’t sure about the idea of letting the little person you love the most just cry and cry. Maybe it was something about estrogen and how I responded to the crying. But we worked out a system.”
She revealed that Barack took the night shift while she went to bed early, often covering her ears to avoid hearing the crying. Despite her reservations, she admitted the method worked quickly, and within a week, the girls had adjusted. At the time, Malia and Sasha were just 4–5 months old.
The conversation arose during an interview with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, who also confirmed similar experiences using the method with his own children.
This moment of parenting transparency follows Michelle’s recent reflections on how her daughters began to distance themselves as teenagers—a phenomenon she described as the natural “push away” phase, where kids seek independence from their parents.
“They definitely went through a period in their teen years… it was the ‘push away,’” she said during an earlier appearance on the Sibling Revelry podcast. “I think they needed to distinguish themselves from us.”
Michelle and Barack Obama, married for over 30 years, welcomed Malia in 1998 and Sasha in 2001. Both daughters are now in their 20s and have grown into public figures with private lives of their own.
The parenting revelations have sparked conversations online about the challenges of early childhood decisions—even for high-profile families—and how shared responsibilities and compromise shape parenting success.
