TODAY Presents: The Parent Chat with Dylan Dreyer – Erin Andrews

Summary

Podcast Summary: Glass Half Full with Craig Melvin

Special Feature: The Parent Chat with Dylan Dreyer & Erin Andrews

Episode Date: April 2, 2026
Guest: Erin Andrews
Host: Dylan Dreyer (from The Parent Chat)

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Episode Overview

In this warm and candid crossover segment, Dylan Dreyer shares an excerpt from her podcast, The Parent Chat, featuring a heartfelt conversation with Erin Andrews. Together, they navigate the "roller coaster journey to motherhood," diving into the realities—both the joys and the struggles—of parenting young children amidst busy professional lives, changing family structures, and the ever-present challenge of “doing it all.” Their chat is a judgment-free zone, filled with honest reflections about emotions, discipline, support systems, and the pressure to live up to unrealistic expectations.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Emotional Roller Coaster of Motherhood

• Transition in Parenting Identity: Both women admit they never considered themselves particularly emotional, but motherhood changed that.
  • “I didn’t think I would be such a softy, Dylan, but, yeah, I’m…” – Erin (01:07)
  • “It takes a lot to make me cry. I’m not an emotional person, but when it comes to my kids…these different emotions just hit you every single day.” – Dylan (01:08)
• Special Moments: Erin shares a touching daily ritual with her son, Mac, and how little things create deep emotional responses.

2. The Challenges of the “Terrible Twos”

• Discipline Dilemmas: Both hosts discuss the challenge of setting boundaries with toddlers and share stories that every parent can relate to.
  • Erin describes the whirlwind of her son turning two:
    “A lot of people said to me, when he hits two, you’re gonna know. And, holy cow, I did. Whoa, baby. And it just came like a tornado.” (02:01)
  • Dylan recounts a memorable battle of wills over—of all things—a green bean:
    • “He went to his room with the green bean in his mouth.” (02:58)
    • “He did eventually eat the green bean, but…I don’t think it was worth it because I don’t know what lesson he learned from it, except that I’m evil half the time.” (03:06)

3. Navigating Parenting as a Team—and the Guilt of Getting Help

• Consistency as a Family: Erin describes the complications of different caregivers implementing new rules and the challenge of maintaining a unified front:
  • “Let’s all three figure out, well, four, how we want to do this? How do we handle him? …I went away for three days to work, and I came back and we changed some things. So then I got frustrated.” (03:28)
• Parental Guilt and Self-Doubt: Both women openly discuss the feeling of failure and not knowing if they're “handling it the right way,” highlighting that the struggle is universal.
  • “I know he’s supposed to be acting like this because he’s two. I just want to handle it the right way.” – Erin (04:08)
  • “I don’t know if there’s a right way.” – Dylan (04:23)

4. The Importance—and Stigma—of Having a Support System

• Normalizing Help: Dylan and Erin emphasize how vital help is for working parents and the guilt that sometimes accompanies having nannies or support staff.
  • Dylan on societal expectations:
    • “It’s almost embarrassing sometimes to admit that you have nanny.” (06:28)
    • “Trust me, I would love to not have to pay somebody to help me watch my kids, but at the same time, I couldn’t have the career I have.” (06:38)
  • Erin credits her baby nurse and stresses honesty about needing support:
    • “It’s okay to admit you have help because it’s worse to paint this picture for people like, ‘I’m doing it all.’ I can’t do it all. There’s no way.” (07:25)
• Shout-out to Caregivers: Erin gives heartfelt thanks to her baby nurse, Nanny Connie, underscoring how pivotal extra help can be for working mothers.

5. Balancing Work, Parenting, and Self-Expectations

• Managing Pressure and Boundaries: Dylan talks about juggling work with home life, noting how fatigue at the end of the day can affect patience and discipline:
  • “Trying to be a calm mom in the evening…trying to balance all the load that I have every day…so I’m not snapping and I’m not yelling. But it’s a tough balance.” (04:23)
• Role Modeling: Both hosts want their kids to see them working hard, emphasizing that career and parenting are not mutually exclusive.
  • “I want my kids to see me working hard and making the sacrifices, yet cooking dinner or doing what I can at home.” – Dylan (07:15)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On letting go of perfection:
  • “Nobody should think you are doing it all because then it’s unrealistic expectations for the mom who’s sitting there struggling. Because we’re all struggling.” — Dylan (07:51)
• On team parenting:
  • “Let’s all figure out how we want to do this. …I came back and we changed some things, and I got frustrated.” — Erin (03:28)
• On sibling dynamics and discipline:
  • “If one does something, then Calvin’s the one who typically follows the rules, but he'll egg everyone else on to make them do the bad things that he doesn’t want to do.” — Dylan (05:06)
• On universal struggles:
  • “It’s all…the same.” — Dylan, when Erin worries about complaining with just one child compared to Dylan’s three (05:50)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:01-00:44 – Introduction and setting the tone of the conversation (Dylan’s allergies, purpose of the Parent Chat)
• 00:44-01:39 – Erin on the joys and emotional surprises of motherhood
• 01:39-02:18 – Daily routines and how children’s age changes interactions
• 02:18-03:28 – Discipline challenges and memorable “green bean” standoff
• 03:28-04:23 – Navigating parenting as a team and adapting to changes
• 04:23-05:44 – Balancing patience, exhaustion, and the need for household rules
• 05:44-07:25 – Guilt and stigma around getting help; candid admissions of needing support
• 07:25-07:51 – The importance of honesty about not “doing it all”

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Tone and Style

• Warm, candid, and humorous: Both Dylan and Erin lean into self-deprecating humor and embrace vulnerability, encouraging parents to be honest about struggles.
• Judgment-free, supportive: There is a strong emphasis on not shaming other parents and validating each other’s experiences.
• Relatable: The conversation is filled with real-life stories and frustrations, making it highly accessible.

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Conclusion

This episode of Glass Half Full featuring The Parent Chat with Dylan Dreyer and Erin Andrews is a refreshingly honest, supportive, and laughter-filled discussion on the realities of parenting. From the daily joys of hearing “mommy” to the frustrating standoffs over green beans, the segment reminds parents everywhere that everyone is just figuring it out as they go—and that help, honesty, and community are as essential as love and patience.

Transcript

[A]

Hey, everyone, it's Dylan Dreier from the Today Show. Excuse my voice. Today, spring allergies are in full swing, and I am definitely feeling it. I'm so excited, though, to let you hear a little bit of my new podcast. It's called the Parent Chat. It's a judgment free zone where I get to talk with other parents and friends about the wild, wonderful, and, yes, messy world of parenting. You're about to hear the first few minutes of my conversation with Erin Andrews on the roller coaster journey to motherhood. I hope you enjoy it. It's so great to talk to you. I feel like also being a mom in this world, social media, where you're working, you're traveling, you're trying to do it all, and somehow you do figure out how to do most of it. All right, but what is the best part to you of being a mom to Mac?

[B]

Well, it's amazing you said all those things, because what I'm trying to work on with myself is not think how much of a failure I am. And I've heard from multiple women, this is gonna happen forever. He just started saying, mom. It went from mama, mama, mama, to mommy, mommy. And that gets me.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I didn't think I would be such a softy, Dylan, but, yeah, I'm

[A]

not a softy either.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

It takes a lot to make me cry. I'm not an emotional person, but when it comes to my kids, all of a sudden, this just. These different emotions just hit you every single day. Everything they do.

[B]

He's really big into. Like, he loves when he wakes up in the morning and after we get him all ready, he loves to run to the tv. And he lays there like a slug. As they say in A Christmas Story. He lays there and he wants you to, like, tickle him. And then I do the.

[A]

He, he.

[B]

And he starts laughing, and he's like, mommy, Mommy. And then I stop, and then he points. Cause he's like, do it again.

[A]

He knows.

[B]

Yeah, it's a crazy age at two, but it's also really, really fun when people say they can react and interact with you.

[A]

I notice I get emotional when I think about, oh, when Calvin was a little baby. And I loved when he was that age. But, like, I love him at this age now. Like, you think you're going to miss where they. But every day just gets better and better.

[B]

Yeah, it does. Although a lot of people said to me, when he hits two, you're gonna know. And, holy cow, I did. Whoa, baby. And it just came like A tornado.

[A]

I noticed. It's like a. It's a defiance. You know, they're testing those boundaries. They're kind of pushing your limits, looking at you.

[B]

When they do it.

[A]

They know exactly what they're doing.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And for me, there have been times where Oliver needed to eat a green bean, Right? And he. I don't really care that much if you eat this green bean. I don't really love green beans either, but I made the statement, you can't leave the table until you eat that green bean. And now I have to stick to it, because otherwise, everybody says if you pull back, they're gonna know that they could take advantage of you. I mean, so what kind of.

[B]

So I'm gonna ask you the questions. Welcome to my podcast. What do you do? You said, eat the green bean. Screaming ensues. And we're in our own home, so it's okay. What are we doing now? What if he is absolutely like, no, Mom, I'm not having the green bean.

[A]

What?

[B]

Tell me what to do.

[A]

It's hard because I, again, don't care that much. He went to his room with the green bean in his mouth.

[B]

No.

[A]

Kept his green bean in his mouth for an hour. And then eventually came down crying. Cause he still had the green bean. And now it's just disgusting at this point, but I'm holding my ground. Like, I am not letting this go. He did eventually eat the green bean, but it was. I don't think it was worth it because I don't know what lesson he learned from it, except that I'm evil half the time. I don't really know if I'm doing the right thing in all these situations.

[B]

That makes me feel better because that's where I am right now. It's really trying with my husband, myself, we have help. Because I wouldn't be able to have, you know, a job, multiple jobs without that. And I have found trying to. Let's all three figure out, well, four, how we want to do this? How do we handle him? And then, you know, I kind of came into a situation where I went away for three days to work, and I came back and we changed some things. So then I got frustrated. I'm like, wait a second, we're changing the rules.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And I've noticed. Is this therapy? Am I going to lay on this couch?

[A]

It can be if you want it to be. I need help, too.

[B]

I've noticed that my feelings about it is more like it's about myself. Am I handling this right? I know he's Supposed to be acting like this because he's two. I just want to handle it the right way. Yeah, and now you're telling me there's no right way. So what do you mean?

[A]

I don't know if there's a right way. And I find half the time, especially as things happen later in the day, like the whole brushing your teeth before bed, that happens very late in the day when I've been up since 4 o' clock in the morning. And now I'm losing my patience. So I'm trying to balance all the load that I have every day from working all day, planning the meals, doing everything else around the house, and trying to be a calm mom in the evening. So I'm not snapping and I'm not yelling. But it's a tough balance.

[B]

How do you do it? What are you thinking to yourself when you feel like you're about to snap?

[A]

I try to take a breath. I try to just like, they'll see me take a breath where I'm like, guys, just make this easier for me.

[B]

Help me out here.

[A]

Like, the problem is all three of them are like, they're wild together. So then if one does something, and then Calvin's the one who typically follows the rules, but he'll egg everyone else on to make them do the bad things that he doesn't want to do. And, I mean, sometimes I just have to yell. Sometimes I have to say, guy, like, I'm not gonna yell right now. Cause nobody wants to hear that. But, like, let's go. Like, you just. There has to be some rules. I feel like there has to be some strictness so that they know who's in charge. Otherwise, I mean, little do they know, they could walk all over me and I will let them do whatever they want. But at some point, you have to take charge and be the one in control.

[B]

I feel like an absolute moron even complaining to you because you have three and I have one.

[A]

It's all. It's all the same.

[B]

It's. That's what everyone tells me when I say that to them. And then I found myself the other day complaining to one of my good girlfriend, and she's like, yeah, my kid's leaving home next month. And I was like, then you have no control over your kids. You know, that's a lot to deal with. But I think the part I'm navigating and you're a wonderful resource person to talk to is just, look, I do believe that. Listen, we should be able to have our jobs, be able to hold it down, be moms, be, you know, whatever we need to be in our home. But it's really, really hard. Yeah, really hard. And thank God everybody else too.

[A]

I know. I think it's just hard for everybody.

[B]

Ye.

[A]

I read an article where you were quoted in it, we're saying, you know, it's almost embarrassing sometimes to admit that you have nanny.

[B]

Yeah, my nanny, my baby nurse taught me that.

[A]

I mean, and it's wild because my oldest, we've had our nanny since he was three months old. Sure. Because I do work full time, like you need. My parents don't live close. My mom's in Florida, My brother's in Oregon. My other brother's in Florida. My in laws are up in Boston. It's like it used to be where you lived in a community. You lived in a neighborhood where your family was close by and you had people that could watch your kids for you. Trust me, I would love to not have to pay somebody to help me watch my kids, but at the same time, I couldn't have the career I have. And I love my job. I've been doing it like half my life. I've been doing this job, you know, so.

[B]

And you should, you should be able to.

[A]

And I want my kids to see me working hard and making the sacrifices, yet cooking dinner or doing what I can at home. But I do think it's. There's nothing wrong with having a village to help you get it done.

[B]

Yeah. My baby nurse. Shout out to Nanny Connie. Love her so much. We had Mac after trying so hard. And right away it was football season, it was time to go. And I was obviously doing. Being asked about having a baby and how do you do it and keep it all together? I'm like, I'm not. And Nanny Connie had said to me, it's okay to admit you have help because it's worse to paint this picture for people like, I'm doing it all. I can't do it all. There's no way.

[A]

And nobody should think you are doing it all because then it's unrealistic expectations for the mom who's sitting there struggling. Because we're all struggling. Thanks for listening. You can listen to the full interview with Erin and other episodes on my show the Parent Chat with Dylan Dreyer. New episodes are available every Thursday wherever you get your podcasts.

[C]

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