Tyra Banks on 4½-Year-Old Son York: 'Coming Home to Him Makes It All Worth It'

"He's very verbal," Dancing with the Stars host Tyra Banks tells PEOPLE of her son York

Tyra Banks and son York. Photo: John Photography/Shutterstock

She's got a busy gig as the new host and producer on Dancing with the Stars, but Tyra Banks has one very special person waiting for her at the end of each day: her 4½-year-old son, York.

"Coming home to him makes it all worth it," Banks, 46, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "If it's late, I'll get into bed and cuddle with him."

And when it comes to raising a child amid an ongoing global pandemic, Banks says that for York, "it's just life."

Continues the host: "I find little kids so interesting. At first wearing a mask was awkward, but now, it's all he knows. It's just normal."

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Tyra Banks. Kurt Krieger/Corbis/Getty

Banks has had some extra help with York since COVID-19 hit: her mom, Carolyn London.

"My mom moved in with us and it feels like the most natural thing," she says. "Human beings are pack animals, so it's strength in numbers. And it is such a blessing."

She adds, "Though, she gets on my nerves sometimes. She buys way too many groceries!"

As far as York, he won't be in the audience due to social distancing protocols, but Banks says he will be watching Dancing with the Stars from home, perhaps reluctantly.

"He will be with my mom on the couch, bored," she says with a laugh. "He's very verbal. He'll say, 'Why do we have to watch Mommy's TV?' "

For more from Tyra Banks, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.