‘Overbearing’ Jenna Bush Hager finally transitions 4-year-old son from crib to bed after backlash

Jenna Bush Hager’s 4-year-old son, Hal, is finally ready for a “big boy bed.”

Bush Hager revealed on Thursday’s episode of “Today with Hoda & Jenna” that the preschooler told her husband, Henry Hager, that he was ready to ditch his crib while she was quarantined in her room with COVID-19.

“I was pushed away into my room, watching all that was on television,” Bush Hager explained, joking that Hal was “free” to be himself while she was sick.

“So Henry heard him say, ‘Daddy! Daddy!’ and he went in and he said, ‘I’m ready,'” she recalled. “And Henry said, ‘You’re ready for what?’ and he said, ‘I need to move into my big boy bed!'”

Although Hal has been in his crib “since birth,” Bush Hager put a normal bed in the room two years ago in hopes her youngest would finally come around to it.

Jenna Bush Hager’s son, Hal, is growing up! Hoda & Jenna/NBC The mother of three revealed on “Today with Hoda & Jenna” that the 4-year-old finally moved into a “big boy bed.” Hoda & Jenna/NBC

“But it all happened without his mother’s help,” the 42-year-old joked. “And that leads me to wonder if I’m too overbearing.”

Hoda Kotb, who is the mother of two girls, agreed that sometimes it’s not until parents are “out of the picture” that kids finally decide to make big changes.

“We think no changes are going to happen without our urging or cheering or guidance,” Kotb chimed in.

The preschooler had previously said he was “scared” to move out of his crib. Hoda & Jenna/NBC

Bush Hager first revealed that Hal was still sleeping in a crib in October, which she now claimed led to a lot of mom “shaming.”

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Due to the criticism, Bush Hager tried to convince Hal to move out of his crib last year, but it didn’t go very well.

“I said, ‘OK, Hal, I think it’s time. Some friends have said it’s time to move,'” she explained Thursday. “And he said he was not ready. He was scared.”

While it’s unclear what spurred his decision, Hager Bush joked that she had maybe been a bit too “overbearing” before. jennabhager/Instagram

While it’s unclear what led Hal to make the switch, Bush Hager previously told viewers that her youngest refused to upgrade his sleeping arrangements.

“I said, ‘Do you wanna, maybe let’s try to talk about moving you next week to your bed,’ and he said ‘not this Christmas but next Christmas,’” the mother of three said on-air in October.

“He wants to be the only kindergartner in his crib. Anyway, to each their own,” she joked.

The journalist shares three kids with husband Henry Hager. jennabhager/Instagram

The “Love Comes First” author also has two daughters: Margaret “Mila” Laura, 10, and Poppy Louise, 8.

Although Bush Hager would have been open to having a fourth, her husband was quick to squash the idea.

She and Henry first started dating in 2004 while the latter was working for her father, former President George W. Bush.

The couple wed in 2008. jennabhager/Instagram

Bush Hager previously shared that she knew “Henry was the one” pretty early on and gave him a “manipulative ultimatum” years before they got engaged.

The journalist revealed in February 2023 that she threatened to “move to Latin America” unless the businessman agreed to pop the question.

But instead of giving her a ring, Henry took her out to a nice restaurant and told her that he would wait for her after she was done traveling.

Although he didn’t fall for her ultimatum, the pair stayed together and Henry ended up proposing in 2007. They tied the knot one year later.