Today's Jenna Bush Hager's one strict parenting rule as she talks 'safe mistakes'
Jenna Bush Hager has opened up about parenting her three children and the steps she's taking to ensure that they live a 'joyful' life and make 'safe mistakes' in the real world.
Jenna, 43, and her husband Henry Hager -
who reside in their Connecticut home
with their kids Mila, 12, Poppy, nine, and five-year-old Hal - have a hard and fast rule when it comes to their offspring using cell phones and social media.
Speaking exclusively to Irish Star,
the Today host
- who recently admitted
she was 'exhausted' after Easter weekend
- explained: "My daughter's in sixth grade, she does not have a cell phone. She will not have a cell phone until eighth grade, none of my kids will, that's the pledge I made because I want her to be happy, you know?
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"It's because I want her to have a joyful life. I want them to be connected to friends. I want them to go into the real world and make safe mistakes," Jenna continued.
Jenna Bush Hager and her husband Henry pictured with their kids Mila, Poppy, and Hal
(Image: @jennabhager/Instagram)
"I'd rather they make safe mistakes in the real world than online, but the other thing is, it's also what we model. And, if we're honest, all of us.... and I totally admit that there's times where I'm waiting for an email so I'm looking at my phone and I'm distracted."
Jenna revealed that this ended up being an unintentional message in her new children's book, I Loved You First, which she wrote with her twin sister Barbara Bush.
"So, this was not on purpose but the message of this book is also to remind myself, 'Okay wait, look up at the world and look at the world through your kids eyes', [because] they can be hilarious and they will find joy in even the mundane.
"Pay attention to that instead of rushing through life because we're busy getting somewhere or staring down at a phone because we're distracted, which we all are...
Jenna said she would rather her three children make 'safe mistakes in the real world than online'
(Image: jennabhager/Instagram)
"Pay attention to that instead of rushing through life because we're busy getting somewhere or staring down at a phone because we're distracted, which we all are...
"So it's been an unintentional message to myself like, 'oh yeah, I want them to be present, I have to be present too'," the former First Daughter added.
Jenna explained how she also makes a conscious effort to always keep the lines of communication open, especially as her eldest is heading toward her teenage years, and a big part of that is being as honest as possible.
"I apologize if I'm grumpy, and we all are, we're human... we're not supposed to be perfect, but I try to model the type of behavior that I would want back," Jenna said.
Jenna introduces her three kids to her new book, I Loved You First, which she wrote with her sister Barbara Bush
(Image: jennabhager/Instagram)
"So if I feel like I snapped at somebody - which we all do - I'll say, 'Hey Mila, I did not mean to act like that, I'm just exhausted', and then I feel like it allows her to have those types of conversations with me.
"I hope that they feel that way, I want this to be like a safe landing pad [and] I try not to be judgmental about what they come to me with."
"Somebody said to me when Mila was two, 'listen to your kids, listen to all the things they say - even the little problems - because then when they have big problems, they'll come to you'.
"And Mila's in middle school so it's getting to that time where she has more things to talk to me about and she does come to me. So, so far, so good - I feel like we try to have an open house."
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