Hoda Kotb Shares Surprising Discipline Tactic She Uses With Her Kids
The Today alum shared how her motherhood journey with kids Haley, 9, and Hope, 7, has evolved ever since adopting an unconventional method recommended by her therapist on how to navigate emotionally-charged situations.
“He said, ‘This week, everything that goes wrong is your fault and say that to yourself,'" Kotb recounted on the Sept. 23 episode of her Making Space podcast, explaining that the approach was to ensure that she was "not coming in hot."
And the 62-year-old soon found herself putting the technique to use when her oldest left home without telling the babysitter.
“One of my daughters leaves on her bike and goes to the ice cream truck and just rides home by herself,” she continued. "The babysitter’s calling me, ‘I don’t know where she is.'"
Though Kotb—who co-parents her daughters with ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman—initially arrived home "mad" at Haley, she took a beat to regain her composure. As the mom of two put it, "Before I turn the knob, I go, ‘This was all my fault.'"
And rather than immediately confronting Haley, Kotb simply sent her child up to bed after dinner.
"I get upstairs afterwards and I go, ‘Honey, do you know why you’re up here early?’" she recalled asking Haley. "'You rode your bike off.'"
Kotb said Haley went on to tearfully confide in her that she had ran off because she was missing a friend.
"When she stopped crying," Kotb continued, "I said, ‘OK, I get it. I understand that you miss your friend and I know that’s hard. But we never ride away by ourselves again.'"
Hoda Kotb/Instagram
And by "lowering the temperature" of the situation at the start and giving time for both her and Haley to process their emotions, the former morning show host said she was able to discipline her child while also getting to "the nut of why she rode off."
"No one was crying and screaming," Kotb explained. "It reminded me to take the sting out of what I'm doing."
For a closer look at Kotb's life as a mom, read on.
Hoda Kotb/Instagram
New Year, New Fun
The Joy 101 founder celebrated the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year by walking her daughters Haley and Hope to campus.
Instagram/Hoda Kotb
School Drop Off
Hoda celebrates her first free morning after leaving Today by personally dropping daughters Hope and Joy off at school.
Instagram/Hoda Kotb
Mommy Duty
"School drop!!! Let’s goooo!" the longtime NBC anchor captioned her Jan. 13, 2025 Instagram.
Instagram/Hoda Kotb
Halloween 2024
After announcing she's leaving Today, Hoda celebrates her first Halloween in the New York suburbs with her kids.
Instagram/Hoda Kotb
Cheer-Worthy
Haley and Hope match in cheerleader costumes.
Mother's Day Surprise
Hoda got emotional as Haley and Hope surprised her with an early Mother's Day gift.
Birthday Celebrations
Joined by her siblings Hala and Adel, nieces Hannah and Ella, mom Sami, daughters Haley Joy and Hope Catherine and fiancé Joel Schiffman, Hoda Kotb described the celebration as "my kinda birthday."
I <3 NY
Hoda enjoys a day with her daughters Haley Joy and Hope Catherine around New York City together.
Queens of Halloween
Another Halloween in the books! Hoda and her first daughter spend their another Halloween together as their Sesame Street alter egos.
Family Forever
The Today show momma spends time with her own mom (and Haley's grandma!) in this cute group shot on Halloween 2019.
Party Time
The host shared this pic of her and her little one at a Sesame Street party in Oct. 2019.
Suns Out, Funs Out
The daytime talk show host spends a day splashing around the beach in Aug. 2019.
Gift for Mama
Haley Joy looks cute as a button celebrating her mom's 55th birthday this past August.
Sweet Sister
"Look who is feeding Hope!" Kotb wrote on her Instagram in May 2019, showing off Haley feeding her newborn Hope.
Friends for Life
Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda's close friend and long-time former co-host at Today, met Hope in early May and they were all smiles all day.
A Full House
In April, the 55-year-old host shared a photo of her full family for the first time on Instagram writing, "This is us xo."
Welcome Hope Catherine!
It's a girl! Hoda introduced Hope to the world after surprising her Today show family on-air revealing that she had secretly adopted her second child.
Birthday Girl
On Valentine's Day, the TV host celebrated Haley's second birthday and shared on Instagram how she felt saying, "So much love today."
Ho Ho Home
The beaming TV personality spent Christmas with her mother, sister and daughter.
Queen Bees
Haley celebrated her second Halloween by twinning with her mom in matching bee costumes.
Apple of Her Eye
In August of 2018, the mother-daughter duo spent an autumn day together picking apples.
Splashing Around
"I can't believe I get to do this .. #grateful" she wrote on her 54th birthday.
Proud Mama
On Mother's Day, Today co-anchor Hoda posed with her one-year-old cutie, Haley, as she sported a cute tee with the word "mama."
Mother's Day Duo
"Pre dawn photo shoots in bed are a blast," gushed the happy mom in a cute Insta selfie early on Mother's Day.
Sixtieth Surprise
On March 2018, the Oklahoma-native celebrated partner Joel Schiffman's 60th birthday with their baby girl and a homemade cake.
Post-Olympic Bliss
"Home!!!!!" announced the TV host on Instagram after spending two weeks covering the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Pre-Olympics Shenanigans
The day before arriving in Pyeongchang for the 2018 Winter Olympics, the TV personality had some fun with her little sweetheart and her USA beanie.
Football's Cutest Fan
Gooo Saints! Hoda and her little sport's fan cheered on the New Orleans Saints in their game against the Minnesota Vikings on January 14.
Christmas Stripe Stars
"Santa we are ready!!!" the journalist wrote on this Christmas selfie with her mom, her partner and her little angel.
Turkey Time
On November 23, Hoda posed with her partner and her baby girl for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
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