Jenna Bush Hager says George W and Laura find her twin’s baby easier than her kids

• Bush Hager, 41, has three children, Mila, ten, Poppy, seven, and Hal, three
• She admitted on the Today show that they can be a handful for her parents
• Bush Hager said it’s easier for them to watch her young niece, Cora Georgia

Jenna Bush Hager has admitted that it’s easier for her parents, George W. and Laura Bush, to watch her twin sister Barbara Bush‘s daughter than her three children because the one-year-old ‘doesn’t really move.’ 

The Today host, 41, opened up their grandparenting styles on Monday’s show while tackling viewers’ social dilemmas with country superstar Reba McEntire, who was filling in for Hoda Kotb. 

‘My daughter is mad at me because she says I watch her sister’s kids more than hers. Truth is her sister’s kids are much better behaved. How can I tell her without hurting her feelings?’ one question read. 

The predicament struck a chord with Bush Hager, who jokingly asked, ‘Is this from my parents? Did my parents submit this?’  

The mom shares three children — Mila, ten, Poppy, seven, and Hal, three — with her husband, Henry Hager, and she knows they can be a lot to handle for her parents now that they are in their mid-70s. 

‘Sometimes it’s complicated with siblings because I think you think, “Oh my gosh, does she prefer the other one? Does mom care more about the other one?” When it is also probably just the ages of kids,’ she explained. 

‘My sister has one baby who doesn’t really move, you know? she said of her niece, Cora Georgia, who was born in September 2021. ‘It’s not personal, necessarily.’

McEntire felt that the grandmother who wrote in needed to take over disciplining the children if they don’t respect her home or surroundings. 

‘Is this what happens with ya’ll?’ she asked her co-host. 

Bush Hager laughed and gave a quick ‘no.’ 

‘My parents do the opposite, where they kind of break up the schedules,’ she said. ‘They’re like, “Oh, sure, [you want our] iPad? You can have our iPad all morning. And you want ice cream for breakfast? Sure.” 

‘And then we kind of have to wheel them back, retrain,’ she added. ‘Because I think they think the grandparents’ job is just to be as fun as possible.’

The former president and first lady may indulge their grandchildren, but they were much stricter in raising their own daughters. 

Bush Hager opened up about her upbringing on the Today show last year, saying her parents were ‘strict in many things.’

However, she noted that they had a ‘hands off’ approach when it came to them playing outside that she admires. 

‘They were laissez-faire in that we had freedom, which I appreciate,’ she said. ‘I want to be like that. I want free-range kids. You know, wild, feral. I want feral children.’