Jenna Bush Hager’s Daughter Mila Totally Impressed Her With This Piece of Life Advice
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Jenna Bush Hager shared a story about her seven-year-old daughter, Mila, submitting a school assignment despite being unsure that she did it correctly.
“I had fun doing this activity,” the second-grader said. “I hope it’s right, but I don’t care if it’s not because you just learn from your mistakes.”
Jenna reflected on how her own parents gave her space to fail, and how that helped lead to her success.
Seven-year-old Mila Hager is wise beyond her years. That’s the exact compliment her teacher gave her after she boldly submitted an assignment despite being unsure that she did it correctly. Her mom, Jenna Bush Hager shared the story during Hoda Kotb’s Dec. 8 “Hodavation” segment on Today With Hoda & Jenna—she was completely blown away by Mila’s willingness to make mistakes.
Kotb’s quote of the day from her book This Just Speaks to Me was, “Mistakes are proof that you’re trying,” which prompted the anchor to reflect on her “biggest flubs” as a journalist. “I did a live shot that was so bad there’s no way I couldn’t be fired, and I remembered coming back from the live shot, kind of sheepish and wondering, ‘Was that it?’” she recalled. “But every single belly-flop brings you closer.”
That reminded Jenna of helping Mila with virtual learning, which is when she pulled out her phone to play the powerful message Mila recorded for her teacher. Her little voice was so sweet. “I had fun doing this activity,” the second-grader said. “I hope it’s right, but I don’t care if it’s not because you just learn from your mistakes and try to remember next time to do your best. Thank you, I had really fun doing this activity. I do it with my mom, and it’s really fun.”
Hoda couldn’t help but smile. “You’re doing something right,” she told Jenna. “It was spelling!” Jenna replied. “I wouldn’t have thought it was fun in second grade. ... How do we just continue to parent our kids where they’re not afraid to put themselves out there?”
“I think you just set the foundation,” Hoda said. Jenna agreed, reflecting on how her parents— George W. Bush and Laura Bush—did that for her and her twin sister Barbara. “I always feel like the best thing my parents ever gave to Barbara and me was the chance to fail,” she explained. “We didn’t need to be anybody but us, and believe me, that was awkward. There were moments where we did fail. And as a mom now, [I’m] like, ‘Thank goodness they allowed us that,’ because if we were expected to be perfect, I would not be sitting here because I would not have the guts to do this job every single day.”
Viewers admired the special moment, and appreciated the reminder that it’s OK to mess up sometimes. “Beautiful words from such a young lady... what an inspiration....” one fan commented on Instagram. “Strong women raise strong women,” another wrote. “I teared up listening to it this morning! What a proud parent moment,” another added. “Well done mom and dad.”
Well done, indeed.
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