Tina Knowles knows that Beyoncé was born to be a protector for her kids.

In fact, one of the 71-year-old’s favorite things about her daughter—who shares daughter Blue Ivy, 13, and twins Rumi and Sir, 7, with husband Jay-Z—is how she places her children first amid her busy life in the spotlight.

“They are always her first priority,” Tina exclusively told E! News The Rundown’s Erin Lim Rhodes at Billboard’s Women in Music Awards in Los Angeles March 29, “no matter what else is going on.”

Beyond Beyoncé’s ability to focus on her kids, Tina—who shares the Cowboy Carter singer, 43, and Solange Knowles, 38, with ex Mathew Knowles—is adamant about shining a light on the important job of being a mom.

“Mothers take on the role of being behind the scenes and doing what they can to support,” the matriarch continued in the interview airing April 2. “It’s nice to be recognized for that.”