Hoda Kotb has no problem clearing up any confusion about her role as a mom, especially when it comes to people who mistakenly assume she’s the grandmother of her two young daughters.

During a segment of Today with Hoda & Jenna on Tuesday, December 17, Kotb, 60, shared her experience with a viewer’s question about how to handle the etiquette of correcting such assumptions.

“Yes, you should. Yes, you should,” Kotb said with confidence when asked if moms should address the comments. She explained that it’s happened to her, revealing that someone once asked her if she was the grandmother of her daughters, Haley, 7, and Hope, 5.

Hoda Kotb Hoda Kotb watches Coldplay perform on NBC’s “Today” at Rockefeller Plaza on October 8, 2024 in New York City. Kotb recently addressed an assumption some people have about her and her young daughters. Debra L Rothenberg/WireImage
“I said, ‘No, I’m their mom,’” she recalled, admitting that while she doesn’t mind correcting people, she understands why it can be frustrating for others.

Kotb went on to explain that she prefers to address the mistake because she wants her children to think of her as their mom, not as their grandmother. “For your kids’ sake, you should say, ‘Oh, no actually…,’” she advised. “But also don’t take offense,” Kotb added. “Some moms are older, some moms are younger, some are taller, some are shorter,” she continued.

Her co-host Jenna Bush Hager, 43, lightened the mood by joking about how some moms are just tired, humorously adding that “some want to crawl into the pantry and eat a string cheese.”

Hoda Kotb Shares Touching Moment With Her Daughter That “Confirmed” Her Decision To Retire: “Everything Seemed Right”

Kotb’s daughters were both adopted later in her life, with Haley joining the family in 2017 and Hope following in 2019. She and her then-partner, Joel Schiffman, adopted the girls together, though they later split in 2022 after being together for over eight years.

The longtime anchor announced she will be stepping down from her Today role in January 2025 to focus on spending more time with her two daughters. The family recently moved from the big city of Manhattan to the suburbs, where she “carried a coffee, and I had sneakers, and I walked with my kids to school! Like normal people! It was awesome!,” as she shared back in September on Today with Hoda & Jenna.