Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb are bonding over their kids’ bewildering use of the word “bro.”
On the Wednesday, December 13th episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna, the hosts talked about a popular TikTok video. The video featured a middle school math teacher listing off slang terms he had learned from his students.
Kotb, 59, mentioned her daughters Haley and Hope, ages six and four, and how they often use the word "bruh". She shares her daughters with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman.
At 42 years old, Hager shares daughters Mila, 10, and Poppy, 8, and son Hal, 4, with her husband Henry Hager. When asked about her kids referring to her as "bro," she jokingly questioned why they would call their loving mothers "bro." Kotb also mentioned that she does not allow her daughters to use the term to address her.
She always tells her kids, "Don't call me bro," she said jokingly, and the audience laughed. However, Bush Hager has struggled to enforce this rule, as her children also enjoy calling her by her full name, she told Kotb.
Courtesy of Jenna Bush/Instagram
“Wait, they call you Jenna Bush in your own house?” Kotb asked in disbelief, prompting Bush Hager to exclaim, “All the time!”
She continued, "They all gang up against me, and I'm just like, 'You want to try, Mom?' And they respond, 'You call me Mila, I call you Jenna.'"
A shocked Kotb replied, "You're losing the fight. No, you've lost the fight."
Bush Hager confirmed, "Yes, it's vanished."
They also talked about Mila's use of the term "preppy," which Bush Hager clarified is now used by kids to mean "cool" instead of a specific style. They also mentioned another, slightly inappropriate phrase they've heard children use.
Courtesy of Hoda Kotb/Instagram
Kotb revealed that her daughters had started saying “what the?!” without actually finishing the implied curse word. She was puzzled about where they had learned it until she overheard it being used in public.
Deal of the Day
Stay Warm and Toasty All Winter Long in This Heated Puffer Vest — On Sale
View Deal
While walking home from school with my kids, a child on a scooter almost collided with me and exclaimed, 'What the?' It made me wonder if that's what kids their age are saying nowadays," Kotb recalled. Bush Hager agreed, saying, "I think they're saying 'what the?' on the playground."