Tara Clark Shares How 'Modern Mom Probs' Was Born
From episode: Tara Clark of Modern Mom Problems Talks Content Creation and Cultivating Community
you created Modern Mom Probs. This is like sort of like the premier destination for moms and on social media who was like, want to laugh and like feel like scene and all of that. And I know you mentioned your background, you know, with Nickelodeon, Nick Knight and Nick Jr. But tell us how Modern Mom Probs got started. Sure. So as I mentioned, I was at Nickelodeon. My son was born at the end of 2012, and I decided to stay home with him full time. Actually, full disclosure, I wanted to go part time at Nickelodeon and they said it's all or nothing. And so I said, OK, then it's going to be nothing. And so I made a very hard decision to stay home with him full time, because living in New York City, there's a certain pressure that you feel to go back to work right away. Yes, I live in New York City. I know that's why I'm saying that to you. Like, I know, you know. there And so was this pressure that I was like, well, of course, that's what I'm going to do. That's what we all do here. That's what all of my peers have done. That's just sort of the I thought the expectation. And so it was a really challenging decision for me to say, you know what, the cost of child care is through the roof. And I just decided financially it really wasn't worth it. And I wanted to spend time with my my one and only child. So that's what I did. OK, so then fast forward to early 2016, it was February of 2016. I had the idea of starting an Instagram account about parenting. And I remember distinctly telling my friends and family, I'm going to start an Instagram account about parenting and I'm going to monetize it. And they were like, what? What do you mean? And I was like, no, no, no, it's going to be a thing. They're like, that's not a thing that I like. Actually, it isn't a thing. You're just like making that up. And I was like, no, I'm not making it up. It's a thing. I'm going to make it a thing. And I so launched NYC Mom Probs, and I was talking about problems that are inherently New York City based. And I know you'll appreciate this, Bethany, because it's like taking your stroller down the subway stairs or on the bus or getting into private like nursery school, like all the different craziness that we deal with in New York City as parents. And so I had an account sort of making fun of that. Actually, at the time we were living the Upper East Side and there's the Upper East Side Moms Facebook group. And that is really what led me to want to start an account lampooning everything. I need to see these. I probably followed you back then. It's not ringing a bell, obviously, because I have such a long time ago. I got to see these old ones because I'm sure I'm laughing right now, because, yes, I grew up in New York City when I was I was working retail, very pregnant with my first. My first was also born in 2012. And I remember on the Upper East Side, I was working retail and women would come in and be like, where is he going to preschool? I'm like, he's not out of my body yet. And they're like, oh, well, and they would give me the look like, all right. I was like, but that's New York City is wild. It's wild here. I love that you have such a parallel experience. I know that this is a true story. We had signed my son up for daycare before he was born. Which is, but you were right on track as far as New York City is concerned. I was behind, but you did it. Yeah, that's you're right on track. I did it. And so it happened to be across the street. We were actually very lucky. We lived at the time we were on 96th in Lexington and there was a preschool across the street that I could literally see the front door from my apartment building. And so, yeah, he went there for actually 18 months. So, I mean, I'm totally going off on a tangent now. But I was home for a while and he was still going to daycare. And then I got a job for a few months and I was like, you know what? This isn't for me. So I left that job. And so that was the story there. But yes, we had signed him up even before he was born.