They say parenting is the world’s oldest job, but from my own experience, I can add that it's also one of the loneliest.

New moms, while tending to their little ones for what feels like endless hours, often feel disconnected from the world, uncertain and helpless about what to do.

But does it really have to be that way? Aren't we living in a hyperconnected era through apps like Tinder, Bumble, Meetup and LinkedIn? Shouldn't there be a Bumble or Meetup for desperate moms already?

As it turns out, there's a local app called Parenting Crew. It's gaining popularity among young moms because, unlike online communities for moms on Naver and other platforms, commonly referred to as “mom cafes,” this app matches you up with other moms who live nearby and have children of similar ages to yours.

As a mom of a soon-to-be 1-year-old, I posted on this app to arrange a mom-and-baby meetup for those near my home. Two moms and their lively babies showed up, and we had a Christmas party on Dec. 23 at a baby cafe.

All of us being in our 30s, we quickly became close, as if we had known each other for years, while we played with our babies and shared parenting tips on things like whether pull-up diapers or tape-style diapers are better, and how to wean babies off formula and transition to regular cow's milk.

Our babies gradually started to interact by touching each other and playing with toys together.

It was not the first time that Yoon Sang-hee, 37, who joined the baby cafe meetup with her 13-month-old daughter, had used the app to find “parenting comrades.”

Yoon overcame postpartum depression by participating in more than 10 co-parenting meetups throughout the year.

“I struggled with the clash between my former self and my new identity as a mother, which was confusing. Spending all day at home with the baby also made me feel depressed,” she said.

Sharing her struggles with other moms of babies around the same age became a source of emotional strength.

“There have been moments when I felt guilty for giving my baby store-bought food, thinking that I’m not doing as much as moms who prepare their own. But the moms I’ve met both online and offline have been super supportive, telling me I’m doing great,” she said.

Yoon, an office worker with more than 10 years of experience, is preparing to return to work in February.

“I’m worried whether I’ll be able to handle the pressure of work, parenting and household duties,” she said.

To seek advice from other working moms, she recently took part in an event launched by the app called "On-gi (warmth) Letter,” where users upload photos of handwritten letters expressing their concerns, and other users respond in kind.

“Just talking to other moms in my neighborhood who have the same concerns helped me feel a lot better and shake off negative thoughts. Looking back, I feel like they helped me grow as a mother.”

This famous African proverb once perfectly described life in traditional Korean society, where extended families and tight-knit communities were common.

Children often spent time at a neighbor's house, even sharing meals with them, and during vacations, the whole family, including parents and grandparents, would go on trips together.

With the shift toward nuclear families and a falling birth rate, these once-common family scenes have faded away.

Many women, including stay-at-home moms and those on maternity leave, are now left to care for their children alone at home for long hours while their still-working partners are at work.

The situation is no different for at-home dads of young kids. In South Korea, child care leave is taken mostly by women.

Last year, out of a total of 195,986 parental leave takers, 145,531 were women, according to a report published by Statistics Korea on Dec. 18.

Moms’ groups could provide an opportunity for mothers burdened with long hours of child care to look after themselves, said Lee Sun-hee, a 31-year-old mother of a 16-month-old boy and another participant of the Dec. 23 gathering.

"When I'm home alone with my baby, it's even hard to eat on time. But with co-parenting, I can leave my baby with other moms for a moment to finish a meal or go to the bathroom," Lee said.

"Through co-parenting, I truly came to understand the meaning of the old saying, 'It takes a village to raise a child.'”

The strong connections Lee has built with other mothers in her community reflect the core values promoted by the Parenting Crew app.

Lee Ga-young, CEO of Dinoz, said, “We launched the app under the slogan 'Moms Support Moms,' with a vision of addressing child care challenges through the power of maternal solidarity.”

Moms and babies grow together

Rapidly developing infants show significant differences in various aspects of growth, such as language and physical development, even with just a few months of age difference.

Lee, who began co-parenting when her son was about 100 days old, was able to learn more about her own child by observing other babies.

"It was fascinating to see the babies show remarkable differences in their gross motor development. When my son went through various changes, like rejecting solid foods and becoming more irritable, the advice from moms who had already experienced these challenges helped me gain a better understanding of infant and toddler development," she said.

Both Yoon and Lee believed that co-parenting can facilitate a baby’s social growth.

“In addition to each other’s homes, co-parenting meetings are also held in various locations, such as baby cafes, kids' restaurants, nearby parks and children’s libraries. These diverse environments provide babies with a variety of visual stimuli and offer them the chance to interact with friends, which helps develop their social skills,” Lee said.

Echoing Lee’s sentiment, Yoon added, "There are so many different kinds of people in the society my daughter will live in. I hope she can learn from an early age how to interact with a variety of friends."

Meanwhile, as the nation is on the brink of becoming a multicultural society with a foreign population exceeding 2.5 million, the Parenting Crew app plans to expand services for foreign mothers.

“Our platform is already utilized by a diverse range of foreign mothers, including an American mom teaching English at Seoul National University and a Japanese mom who has settled in Korea after marrying a Korean,” said Lee.

“In response to multiculturalism, we will ramp up efforts to introduce features like an English translation to support mothers from a wider variety of racial and cultural backgrounds.”