Barack Obama, Michelle Obama’s one parenting disagreement revealed
Sierra Campbell
(NewsNation) — Barack Obama and Michelle Obama had one disagreement when their daughters were babies: how to put them to sleep.
On her “IMO” podcast, Michelle Obama talked about the controversial sleeping method, the Ferber Method, with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. This method, which was invented by physician Richard Ferber, advises parents to allow their child to cry for a specific amount of time before giving them comfort.
Obama admitted that she and her husband used this method, despite not agreeing on it at first. Michelle Obama said, “I didn’t want to do it. Barack did it, and I don’t know that I could have done it because I wasn’t sure about it — the notion that you just let the little person that you love cry and cry.”
The 61-year-old mother said she “couldn’t even deal” with the thought of her daughters crying, believing it could’ve had something to do with her estrogen levels after giving birth. “We set it up where Barack took the night shift,” she revealed. “I went to bed, which was helpful because it got me some sleep.”
“It took no longer than a week, and it was really after the first two nights, because we started early,” she explained.
FILE – First lady Michelle Obama, and President Barack Obama arrive for the Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony in the East Room of the White House, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in Washington. Former President Barack Obama’s presidential portrait will be unveiled at the White House in a Sept. 7, 2022, ceremony hosted by President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 5: (L-R) Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama, and U.S. President Joe Biden arrive for an event to mark the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House on April 5, 2022 in Washington, DC. With then-Vice President Joe Biden by his side, Obama signed ‘Obamacare’ into law on March 23, 2010. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 5: U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama attend an event to mark the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House on April 5, 2022 in Washington, DC. With then-Vice President Joe Biden by his side, Obama signed ‘Obamacare’ into law on March 23, 2010. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Following the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, Obama and his wife Michelle issued a lengthy statement calling the ruling an attack on “the essential freedoms of millions of Americans.” (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
FILE – President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama applaud former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, not seen, during the portrait unveiling ceremony for former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush portraits, May 31, 2012, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Obama’s presidential portrait will be unveiled at the White House in a Sept. 7, 2022, ceremony hosted by President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Former President Barack Obama kisses his wife former first lady Michelle Obama after they unveiled their official White House portraits during a ceremony for the unveiling in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Former first lady Michelle Obama is seeking to follow up on the success of her best-selling book “Becoming.”
Former first lady Michelle Obama speaks at the opening ceremony of the of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Former President Barack Obama hugs former first lady Michelle Obama as he is introduced during the Democratic National Convention Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 3: (AFP OUT) U.S. President Barack Obama waves to the assembled press as he walks with his daughter Malia on his family’s return to the South Lawn of the White House January 3, 2016 in Washington, DC. The first family is returning from their two week Hawaiian vacation (Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – AUGUST 20: Former U.S. President Barack Obama (L) greets former first lady Michelle Obama as he arrives to speak on stage during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are gathering in Chicago, as current Vice President Kamala Harris is named her party’s presidential nominee. The DNC takes place from August 19-22. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Malia Ann Obama attends the “The Heart” Premiere at the Short Film Program 1 during the 2024 Sundance Film Festival at Prospector Square Theatre on January 18, 2024 in Park City, Utah. (Dia Dipasupil, Getty Images)
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The couple decided to try “Ferberization” after they weaned one of their daughters off breastfeeding, which would’ve been around four or five months.
“The sooner that you start … removing the symptom, the quicker you start to implement the action, the more responsive the child is,” the former first lady said.
Michelle and Barack Obama, 63, married in 1992 and had their first daughter, Malia, in 1998, and their second daughter, Sasha, in 2001.
