Jenna Bush Hager Jokes Son Hal 'Looks Miserable' in Photos Before First Day at New School: 'It's Going to Be Fine'

Bush Hager is mom to daughters Poppy, 9, and Mila, 11, as well as son Hal, 5, whom she shares with husband Henry Hager

Jenna Bush Hager's son Hal had some mixed feelings before his first day of school.

On the Wednesday, Sept. 4 episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager, 42, shared that her three kids had their first day of school this week. She shares her daughters Poppy, 9, and Mila, 11, as well as son Henry "Hal," 5, with husband Henry Hager.

"Can I just give a little shout-out, it’s my kids' first day today," Bush Hager says before photos of her kids appear on the screen behind her. "And can we just see because Hal Hager has the first day at the big school. And first of all, does it not look like he’s either my father in a 5-year-old body or being held captive?"

"He’s like, ‘Should I go? Should I not go? Should I go? Should I not go?’ I told him, ‘It’s okay.’ I told them all, I was like, ‘You guys, I went to a public high school from a tiny private middle school with a thousand kids in my freshman class,' " the proud mom continues.

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Related: Jenna Bush Hager Reveals Why Her Son Hal Burst Into Tears When She FaceTimed Him on First Day at New School

"Because Mila was like, ‘How am I going to find 6th grade, I have to walk around, how am I going to find my class?' I was like.. ‘I’m telling you, I walked in, my knees were shaking.’ Hal was like, ‘You were?’ Because it’s okay to be nervous!"

Her costar Hoda Kotb then chimed in to say that one of the "best parenting things" that parents can do is reiterate that it's okay to be scared or nervous.

"Because I had the habit of, ‘It’s going to be fine you know why, because you’re going to make new friends,'" Kotb said. "And your kid is like, ‘You’re not hearing me. I’m feeling a little funky.’"

"And sometimes they don’t even say it. Hal’s face was like, I could just tell… he wouldn’t say he’s nervous but I could feel it on him. And it’s okay. It’s okay," Bush Hager affirmed.

Bush Hager then shared photos of her three kids on their first day, which showed Hal displaying several worried looks. Each kid held up a sign that read which grade they were going into — 3rd for Poppy, 6th for Mila and pre-K for Hal.

"By the way, Hal is so cute with that sign," Kotb said. "He looks miserable, but it’s going to be fine," added Bush Hager.

Earlier this week on Today with Hoda & Jenna, Bush Hager shared that she'd accidentally made her son cry on his first day of school.

"Guess what I just did," Bush Hager said to guest host Shienelle Jones. "For some reason, I thought it was a good idea to FaceTime with the teacher."

"This morning?" Jones asked.

Bush Hager replied, "Yes, with Hal going into his first day at his new school. Guess what that cost? Tears! So even if you’re not there like us…"

Jones finished her sentence, validating her co-host, saying, "…you just have to swim into it and lean into it and know that you’re the best."

"Exactly," Bush Hager agreed.

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