Hoda Kotb Reveals the Kindhearted Purchase Daughter Haley, 5, Made with Her Weekly Allowance

TODAY with Hoda & Jenna/Twitter

Hoda Kotb is raising her girls to have hearts as big as their moms!

The Today show host, 57, shared a sweet story about giving back that centered around her older daughter, Haley Joy, 5. During Tuesday's episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Kotb explained that Haley has a chore chart where she gets a quarter for each chore she gets done, like making her bed.

Once Haley had saved up some money, Kotb asked her what she wanted to do with it. After briefly considering a dollhouse, the kindergartener came up with an idea she liked better.

"I want to buy an ice cream cone for Mo," Haley told Kotb, referring to a man who runs a restaurant in their neighborhood.

"She said, 'I want to call him and I want to find out what his favorite flavor is,'" Kotb continued. After giving him a quick call, Haley learned that Mo's favorite flavor is chocolate.

"Then we see him randomly on the street. And he said, 'Why did you want to know my favorite ice cream? And [Haley] said, 'Well, I've been doing my chores all week and I want to get you an ice cream,' " Kotb recalled.

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The next day, Kotb, Haley and little sister Hope Catherine, 3, met Mo at the ice cream shop, where Haley treated him to a cone.

"She took her money out of her Ziploc and she got the biggest hug," the proud mom shared. "Afterwards, we sat down — Hope, Haley, me and Mo and he said, 'Do you know why this cone is extra special today? And Haley said, 'Why?' And he said, 'Because it's my birthday.' "

Kotb explained how the good deed made her think about how important it is to be kind. "I was just thinking, like when you do something kind, the universe cooperates," she said.

"Like it happened to have been his birthday on that day with the ice cream?" Kotb mused.

Kotb shares Hope and Haley with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman. The pair began dating quietly for a couple of years before going public in 2015. The couple announced their engagement in November 2019 but ultimately announced their split in January 2022.

Kotb got candid about the "scary" reality of being an older mom in May during an episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, explaining that she often thinks about "how much time you have."

"As an older mom, I think there are a lot of beautiful parts and challenges too. I see all the good parts about being an older mom," she said. "Like, I'm in my own skin, I know who I am, I've got much more patience and love and all that stuff. But along with that also comes the fact that you're an older mother."

"You can't help it — sometimes people will come up and say, 'Wait, you're the mother?' And it gives you this pause for a second. And your kids look around like, 'Huh? What are you talking about?' It's a tough thing to do," Kotb added.

"I remember thinking, 'Why does that bother me? I'm not embarrassed to be my age. I'm happy at my age. It's the perfect storm of my life. Two kids, this time, this job.' Someone was saying, 'It gets greatest later' — it does get greater later, but in between, there are these moments that you feel an 'Ouch!' "