Stay-at-Home vs. Working Mom: Why the Whole Debate Is Outdated

Stay-at-Home vs. Working Mom: Why the Whole Debate Is Outdated

In this episode of The Parent Chat, Dylan Dreyer sits down with Neha Ruch, author of The Power Pause, for an honest conversation about what it really means to step back from your career for your kids, and how to do it without losing your sense of self. They dig into the questions parents actually wrestle with: How do you know if pausing is right for you? What do you do with yourself when the external metrics of success disappear? And if you can't pause — what then? Plus: why your career has zero impact on your kids (but presence does), the comparison trap that hits hardest at the playground, and Neha's parenting win — nailing the sex talk so thoroughly her son was horrified she'd done it twice. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Surviving the Teenage Years with 'Modern Family' stars Julie Bowen & Ty Burrell

On this episode of The Parent Chat, Dylan Dreyer sits down with Modern Family's Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell — real-life parents of five teenagers — for an honest conversation about what happens when your kids stop needing you quite so much. They get into the questions parents of older kids are really asking: How do you keep the conversation going when your teenager shuts down? What do you do when you're 95% invisible and just waiting for that 5% moment? And how do you co-parent well after divorce when you're still figuring it all out? Plus Ty's trick for talking to teenagers without accidentally delivering a lecture, Julie's tip for getting boys to actually open up in the car, and why a boundary-free kid coming over for a sleepover might be the best parenting lesson your child ever gets. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How to Handle Your Kid's Meltdowns Without Losing Your Own Mind

Dylan sits down with Kristin and Deena of Big Little Feelings to break down what's actually happening in your kid's brain during a meltdown, why reasoning with them in the moment never works, and what to actually do instead — whether your kid is a hitter, a scratcher, or a full public meltdown machine. Plus: what to do when you're the one about to lose it at 8pm and nobody is brushing their teeth, why forced sharing might be setting your kids up to fail, and the parenting confession neither of them is proud of. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Breaking Toxic Parenting Cycles You May Not Know You're Repeating

Clinical psychologist and The Conscious Parent author Dr. Shefali joins Dylan to unpack the childhood patterns most parents are silently passing down to their kids without realizing it. Are you the fixer who does everything so no one suffers? The fighter who learned to blow up from watching your own parents? Or the freezer who shuts down when the overwhelm gets to be too much? Dr. Shefali gets honest about her own cycles too — including the moment her daughter called her out mid-conversation for shaming her instead of just saying no. Plus: why over-apologizing might be doing more harm than good, what pushing music lessons really says about your own unfinished business, and the one question she says every parent should ask their kid today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Picky Eaters, Bed Sharing, and Screen Time Limits: Emily Oster Answers the Questions You're Googling

Ever Googled your child's symptoms at 2 a.m. and ended up more anxious than when you started? You're not alone — and Brown University economist and author Emily Oster has made it her mission to replace parenting panic with actual data. In this episode of The Parent Chat, Dylan Dreyer sits down with Oster to tackle the questions that keep parents up at night: How much screen time is really too much? What do you do about a picky eater? Does it actually matter if your child sleeps in your own bed? And what does the evidence really say about breastfeeding, drinking during pregnancy, and skipping that Sunday morning birthday party? Emily also gets candid about her own parenting fails — including the fact that she knows exactly what consistency does for children’s behavior, and still can't always pull it off. Follow us at @TodayParents and @DylanDreyerNBC for more TODAY parenting content. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.