Story highlights Ivanka Trump has three small children

She talked about motherhood during a panel on Monday

Washington (CNN) Ivanka Trump's a busy woman.

In addition to serving as a top adviser to her father, President Donald Trump, she's also the mother of three children age five and younger. She opened up about motherhood and the impossibility of work-life balance Monday at a luncheon honoring small business owners as part of National Small Business Week.

"I have, personally, thrown balance out the window. I don't even strive for it anymore because I don't like to intentionally set myself up for failure. I did that, probably the first two years of my daughter's life, but I've actually chilled out a bit on this front," she said, speaking on a panel at the US Institute of Peace alongside Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon.

"I think that balance implies a scale, which inevitably tips in one direction. And the challenge with children, so often, the levers are outside of your control," she said.

The first daughter said she makes spending individual time with each of her three young children, ages 1, 3, and 5, a priority, and will not make work-related plans after getting home from a trip.

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