Photo: Helen Healey/NBC via Getty

Jenna Bush Hager and Mila Hager on Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Jenna Bush Hager’sdaughter Mila can be quite convincing when she wants to be.

On Wednesday’s episode ofToday with Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager, 41, recounted a story to co-hostHoda Kotbfrom when her daughter Mila, 10, asked for a debit card. “We had said no. And we had said no. And we had said no,” the mom of three told Kotb. “And then she did a PowerPoint presentation.”

The digital presentation included “why she was responsible enough now, and what chores she would do, and how she wanted to learn how to save and how she wants to buy presents for her siblings at Christmas on her own,” the proud mom explained.

“And at the end, Henry, who’s a pretty conservative spender, said, ‘Okay Mila. You’ve earned it,'” she said of her husband, Henry Hager, 45.

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“That’s such a good life lesson,” Kotb told her friend and co-host.

“She did it on her own,” Bush Hager said.

“Probably because you said no,” Kotb continued. “Imagine if you’d said, ‘Well, okay, we’ll see how you do with it.’ But instead, you said, no, no, no.'”

Saying that her generation heard “no” a lot in childhood, Bush Hager added, “This generation is just like, ‘Okay, have a phone. All right. Get on social media.’ Saying no is actually really important.”

Bush Hager and her husband share daughters Mila and Poppy, 8, as well as son Hal, 4.

Earlier this month, Bush Hager chatted with PEOPLE about her new children’s bookLove Comes Firstand opened upabout what her own kids have been reading this season.

“Shefinished the wholeHarry Potterseries, so she’s kind of done with fantasy and wizards for now and is really more into grounded fiction. I actually just went to the library with her and helped her pick out a lot more like that.”

Last but not least is Hal, who enjoys reading books with Mom. “He plays this really fun game, because he knows I love the books that are basically about how much a mom loves their child, the sweet ones that are more for parents than they are for kids. So he’s always like, ‘Guess what we’re gonna read tonight, Mommy?’ And then he’ll pick and it sort of depends on his mood, if he wants to terrorize me or not,” she laughed.

“Sometimes he’s like, ‘We’re gonna readOn the Night You Were Born,Mommy!’ and then sometimes he’ll sort of dangle it over me and then say, ‘Not tonight, Mommy!’ which is hilarious and it works every time.”

source: people.com