Jenna Bush Hager said weighing herself with her daughter was a 'disaster.' Here's why experts agree it's best for kids to avoid the scale.

Jenna Bush Hager doesn’t want her daughter to think about the scale.

The Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host opened up on the show about how she and her daughter Mila, 11, found themselves confronted with a scale during a recent trip.

"I had this really weird thing this weekend because we're staying at this little cottage at a friend's this week so my kids could go to camp with their pals," she shared. "And there's a scale in the bathroom, and Mila was like, 'What is that?' Cause I don't own a scale."

She added that the two had “weighed ourselves here once, which was sort of a disaster.”

“I don't own a scale,” Hager continued. “I don't want to be beholden to some number on a machine that makes me feel bad."

Should kids think about weight?

Hager may have the right idea to avoid scales in the home. In fact, many people are pushing back on the idea that kids should think about their weight at all. Amy Henke, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, previously told Yahoo Life that “talking to kids about weight can backfire because they may begin to feel self-conscious, anxious or ashamed of their bodies.”

"These feelings can contribute to the development of eating disorders such as anorexia,” she explained. “Eating disorders in children, such as anorexia and bulimia, have dramatically increased in recent years. Focusing on weight and body image is a risk factor.”

Avoiding the scale doesn’t mean that parents can never speak to their kids about their bodies. Instead, conversations about one's body should focus on how to keep it as healthy as possible.

Sarah Herstich, a licensed clinical social worker who runs the Reclaim Collective Nutrition and Therapy Center, previously told Yahoo Life, “We can, and absolutely should, teach our kids about their bodies, about how to keep them strong and nourished and about how to fuel them. It is very possible to do this without … discussing weight.”

Flora Sadri-Azarbayejani, a medical advisor at Psyclarity Health shared with Yahoo Life, “The goal should be to help the child make lifestyle changes that will benefit their health and well-being. Parents should emphasize healthy eating habits and regular physical activity.”

Scales at school

It's not just parents who are reconsidering the place of the scale in their home. Many people are pushing back against weigh-ins at school as well. While free health screenings can provide an important service, many people argue that school weigh-ins are doing more harm than good. Denise Hamburger, a body image expert and founder and executive director of BeReal USA, previously told Yahoo Life that weigh-ins at school do significantly more harm than good.

"The only thing we do know is it creates body dissatisfaction and stigma," she explained.

While not every school offers weigh-ins as part of a health assessment, for those who do, parents should take the opportunity to opt their child out of the process. Oona Hanson, an educator and parent coach, told Yahoo Life, "Talking to kids about why you are opting them out of this body assessment creates a great opportunity to talk about things like weight stigma and to get their thoughts on the messages they're hearing about body size at school."

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorders Association hotline at 1-800-931-2237.

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