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

Summary

Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist: The Parent Chat with Dylan Dreyer – Erin Andrews

Original Air Date: April 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this candid and heartfelt episode of "The Parent Chat," host Dylan Dreyer sits down with sportscaster Erin Andrews for a genuine conversation about the realities of modern motherhood. Both share the challenges, joys, and unexpected emotions that come with parenting, especially while juggling demanding careers. This episode creates a judgment-free space to discuss topics like mom guilt, household dynamics, setting boundaries, needing help, and the ever-changing landscape of raising young children in today's world.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Unexpected Emotions of Motherhood

• Dylan and Erin both admit to being surprised by their “soft sides” as mothers, experiencing powerful emotions in response to their children.
  • Erin shares how hearing her son Mac say “mommy” melts her heart.

    "He just started saying, mom. It went from mama, mama, mama, to mommy, mommy. And that gets me." – Erin ([00:44])

  • Dylan agrees, noting she rarely cried before kids, but “these different emotions just hit you every single day.” ([01:08])

The Challenges & Joys of Parenting Toddlers

• Describing life with two-year-olds, Erin and Dylan talk about the fun and chaos of the “toddler tornado.”
  • Erin humorously describes her son’s morning “slug” routine and the joy of simple laughter ([01:18]).
  • Both acknowledge how each stage brings new wonders, even as they miss earlier ones.

    "You think you're going to miss where they... but every day just gets better and better." – Dylan ([01:46])

  • Erin notes, “When he hits two, you're gonna know. And, holy cow, I did. Whoa, baby. And it just came like a tornado.” ([02:01])

Discipline, Boundaries, and Parental Second-Guessing

• Real-life discipline dilemmas come up, including battles over food and sticking to boundaries.
  • Dylan recounts a green bean standoff that lasted an hour, leading her to question what lesson was really learned ([02:58]–[03:18]).

    "He went to his room with the green bean in his mouth. Kept his green bean in his mouth for an hour. And then eventually came down crying... He did eventually eat the green bean, but... I don't know what lesson he learned from it, except that I'm evil half the time." – Dylan

  • Erin appreciates this honesty, saying, "That makes me feel better because that's where I am right now." ([03:28])
• Consistency between parents and caregivers is a challenge, especially when routines change or parents return from work trips.
  • Erin describes the difficulty of “changing the rules” while she’s away and the frustration it causes. ([03:28]–[04:01])

Balancing Work, Household, and Emotional Loads

• Dylan discusses the compounded fatigue and emotional labor of working mothers, especially during evening routines.
  • She openly admits how her patience wears thin at the end of the day, while still striving to be a “calm mom” ([04:23]).

    "I'm trying to balance all the load... 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." – Dylan ([04:23])

Letting Go of “Doing It All” and Embracing Help

• Both women discuss the stigma of needing help (nannies, family, etc.) and the antiquated expectation of doing everything solo.
  • Erin references advice from her “baby nurse,” Nanny Connie, about being honest with others about getting help:

    “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.” – Erin ([07:25])

  • Dylan points out the lack of nearby family support and the necessity of paid help to juggle demanding jobs ([06:38]–[07:13]).
  • Both agree there is “nothing wrong with having a village” to support working mothers.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I didn't think I would be such a softy, Dylan, but, yeah, I'm..." – Erin ([01:03])
• "These different emotions just hit you every single day. Everything they do." – Dylan ([01:08])
• "It's a defiance. You know, they're testing those boundaries. They're kind of pushing your limits, looking at you." – Dylan ([02:11])
• "At some point, you have to take charge and be the one in control." – Dylan ([05:06])
• "I feel like an absolute moron even complaining to you because you have three and I have one." – Erin ([05:44])
• "It's all the same." – Dylan ([05:50]), normalizing struggles regardless of the number of children.
• “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])

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Important Timestamps

• 00:44–01:32 – Erin’s emotional response to her son saying “mommy” and the joys of toddler interactions.
• 02:01–03:18 – The “toddler tornado,” boundary testing, and the green bean saga.
• 04:23–05:44 – Balancing career, emotional labor, and setting limits without constant yelling.
• 06:28–07:51 – Open talk about reliance on nannies, breaking down the stigma, and advocating for honest conversations about help.

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Tone and Atmosphere

Dylan and Erin create a warm, open, and deeply relatable atmosphere, punctuated by self-deprecating humor and vulnerability. The conversation is lively but never sugarcoated – they acknowledge both their love for their children and their ongoing uncertainties about “what’s right” in parenting.

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Summary

This episode of "The Parent Chat" offers a refreshingly honest perspective on the multifaceted reality of motherhood. By laying bare their doubts, mistakes, and moments of joy, Dylan Dreyer and Erin Andrews provide comfort and solidarity for any parent wondering if they’re alone in their struggles. Listeners come away with the reassuring realization: no parent is doing it all perfectly, and seeking help (or just laughing about the hard stuff) is not only okay—it’s necessary.

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.

[A]

So what do you 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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