The Near Disaster That Rocked Jenna Bush Hager's Birthday Party For Her Daughter

The American Dream — a massive shopping mall and amusement park located just outside of New York City — might be a whimsical experience for kids, but it has the potential to turn into a nightmare for parents. Jenna Bush Hager discovered this when taking her older daughter Mila and her friends to the mall for Mila's 11th birthday. 

Bush Hager may live a lavish lifestyle, but she makes a point of spending quality time with her children — and that includes planning birthday parties. On April 15, while hosting "Today with Hoda and Jenna," she told co-host Hoda Kotb all about the chaos that ensued at Mila's recent birthday outing. "We went to the American Dream Mall, which if any of y'all visit this area or live in this area, it's quite an extravaganza," she stated (per People). "I don't know why I felt like taking 15 girls to a waterpark and then a theme park."

The celebration was a great success — at first. "It was wonderful until we lost one child," Bush Hager revealed.

Jenna Bush Hager used to be a teacher, so she was sure that she would be able to handle the large group of middle schoolers. "I took 24 kids on a subway in Washington, D.C. by myself. I got this," she initially thought. "Well, turns out, I really didn't got it when it's your own children who don't listen to you the way that your students did," she went on. 

Bush Hager told Kotb that she had established two rules for daughters Mila and Poppy and their friends. They had to abide by a buddy system, and they had to return to a meeting point at 2:15. "Well, nobody turned up at 2:15," Bush Hager relayed. Even when the majority of the group had reunited, one little girl — one of Poppy's friends — was nowhere to be seen. When Kotb asked Bush Hager what her reaction was, Bush Hager answered, "Absolute panic."

Thankfully, Poppy was able to lead the group back to her missing friend. It's safe to say Bush Hager's heart was still racing when they found her. "I am retiring from big parties," she quipped to Kotb. "In fact, I think we need to make a 'Mama Is Done' list of things we are never doing again. Big parties — Mama is done!"

Jenna Bush Hager's kids will always be central to her life, no matter how busy she gets. As a high-profile working mother, she often opens up about making time for her children while holding down a demanding career. In a 2014 interview with PopSugar — shortly after she gave birth to Mila — she shared that was still figuring out how to balance work and parenting, although she and husband Henry Bush Hager had figured out a few useful strategies. Her number one tip? Put your phone away to create a sharp distinction between work time and bonding time. "I think the main thing is when I'm with [Mila] to recognize that the time is really precious, and it's harder done than said. When you're working on a project, you constantly think about it, which is why we literally have to put our cell phones away ... When she goes back to bed, we can get back on our phones and get back to work," she said. "I'm happy I work because I want to show her the power that women have to do it all. But you just can't do it all at the same time. So when I'm with her, work is somewhere else."

It's sweet that, despite her fame, Bush Hager is able to take her kids to fun places like the mall — even though she might not be returning to American Dream in particular anytime soon.