Her first step was to start researching things to do in the Dayton region, but once she visited popular places like the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force or the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, she started feeling overwhelmed. She not only was overwhelmed with the lack of resources for activities geared toward kids, but she was new to having two kids.
Lee recalled being up in the middle of the night scrolling on Instagram and seeing accounts on her feed posting about unique playgrounds, but they were always in different cities.
"I can't possibly be the only mom who has young kids wishing there was something like this coming across their Instagram feed," Lee said.
Creating an account geared towards all things kids and family fun was just an idea in the back of her head that she hoped to do one day. Once she had an idea for a handle, she went ahead and started it.
The rest is history. Her account, @dytwithkids, has nearly 13K followers on Instagram with more than 150 posts of things to do with young kids in the Dayton region.
From a few hundred followers to 13K
Lee started the account in October 2023 just to try it and see what would happen.
"It feels like successful social media is like a needle in a haystack and your odds are so slim and for six months that's how it was," Lee said.
Her first few hundred followers were really nice and engaged, which made her feel like she was helping other parents in the region. It wasn't until April 2024, when she posted a reel that said, "You're a parent in Dayton, Ohio and wish you could find all the best playgrounds, kid friendly activities and local family fun, and then you find my account," where she gained 7,000 followers.
Lee still remembers that day because she was on vacation in Virginia and had her Instagram notifications turned on for new followers. Around that same time, she had another post on her page become popular. It was about Forest Field Park in Washington Twp.
What to expect on her page
Followers can expect "anything and everything to do with young kids in Dayton" on her page.
"My focus is younger kids because that's what I know," Lee said. "When the weather is nice, I'd say it's almost all outdoor stuff because that's what we love."
From parks, playgrounds and hikes to libraries, play studios and indoor playgrounds, she makes posts wherever she takes her kids.
Lee lives in Beavercreek, so her content is typically a little more focused on south of Dayton. With her page growing, she is making a conscious effort to try new places from Troy to Springboro.
Some of her favorite places to visit with her kids include Learning Tree Farm in Dayton, Aullwood Audubon in Dayton, Gentile Nature Park in Kettering and Capabilities Play in West Carrollton.
"I think people sometimes think too hard about it too," Lee said. "They think they always have to take their kid to "kid stuff" and I do share a lot of that stuff because it's fun, but my kids also like going to the coffee shop."
She said her son thinks it's the best thing in the world when a barista put his milk in a coffee cup.
Her ideal day in Dayton would be grabbing a cup of coffee and spending a few hours at a playground or going hiking. Other go-to spots include Narrows Reserve in Xenia, Russ Nature Reserve in Beavercreek, Forest Field Park and Bill Yeck Park in Washington Twp.
The @dytwithkids account has become known for its free weekly things to do guides.
Lee will post a list of things to do with kids around the Dayton region on Thursdays and ask her followers to comment a keyword. Those that comment, will receive a list with all the details. This is also one way her followers can be added to her email list where they will receive this weekly.
For the holiday season, Lee is in the midst of creating a free guide featuring all things Christmas. Some spots she is planning to go to include LM&M Railroad in Lebanon, A Carillon Christmas in Dayton and Woodland Lights in Washington Twp.
"Dayton is like this perfect happy medium where to me it feels like we're never going to run out of things to do," Lee said.
She does have plans to launch her first paid guide featuring indoor adventures. She described it as 30 days of play dates with one main thing to do and several other little things near it, so you can make a whole day of it.
Creating a community
Lee's favorite part of creating @dytwithkids has been the community that has come with it.
"I just hope the people that follow me know how much I really just care about the people who are engaged with me," Lee said. "I'd be taking my kids out making these bucket list things to do anyway, so it's just fun that I can merge all of those things."
Lee, who is originally from Pennsylvania and was living in Kentucky prior to moving to the Dayton region in 2019, is a realtor with Irongate. With working in real estate, she was already posting on social media. Something she wanted to do was make it less about her and more about giving back and sharing helpful information. This is her way of doing just that.
Her advice to other content creators, "Just try it because you literally never know."
She encourages others to make sure it's coming from "a place of real authenticity and connection... I think that's why it has done so well because people can connect with that. What I share is real life it's not curated or fancy."
The parenting space on social media can sometimes be negative where parents feels like they are constantly comparing their way of parenting to others. Lee hopes to be a shining light where parents feel empowered to go do something with their kids. She wanted to remind her followers, "what is right for me and my family is not necessarily right for you."
"I appreciate peoples' support so much and I feel like there's so much untapped potential still," Lee said. "I'm just excited to see what happens."