Screen Time Battles: How Turning Travel Time into Connection Time Changed Our Family
The Problem
I’ll never forget the day it hit me.
We were halfway through a long drive — one of those quiet, stretched-out moments where time feels like it’s holding its breath — and I realized we hadn’t really talked in hours.
My husband was driving, I was scrolling through my phone, and our son, Squish, sat in the backseat with his tablet, eyes glued to a glowing screen.
We were together, but not really together.
It wasn’t always like that.
When Squish was little, road trips were filled with stories, silly songs, and questions about every cow, cloud, and construction truck we passed.
But as he got older — and as screens became the default answer to boredom — travel time shifted.
Instead of being a time for connection, it became a silent truce: as long as the screen stayed on, the peace was kept.
Until one day, it didn’t feel peaceful anymore.
Realizing we had a Problem
It was a small thing that sparked it — one of those seemingly ordinary moments that ends up changing everything.
We were on a three-hour trip to visit family, and when we arrived, I asked Squish what he thought of the Mississippi River. He looked up blankly and said, “I didn’t see it.”
He didn’t see it.
The river — the bridge, the mist, the sunrise breaking through the trees — he’d missed it all.
That was the moment. The one that made my stomach twist and my heart ache.
I realized that these were our moments, and we were letting them slip away.
Not because we didn’t care, but because we’d fallen into the same rhythm that so many families have — screens as the easy fix, the quiet filler, the background hum of every car ride and waiting line.
But the truth is, travel time can be sacred time.
It’s one of the few moments in our busy, over-scheduled lives when we’re already together, side by side, with nowhere else to be.
And I decided right then that I didn’t want to miss any more of it.
Deciding Things Needed to Change
That night, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I thought about how quickly the years were flying by — how in a blink, these car rides would turn into dorm drop-offs or airport goodbyes. I wanted more stories, more laughter, more connection.
I wanted Squish to remember the trips between destinations just as much as the places we visited.
So we made a quiet family decision: travel time would no longer be screen time.
We didn’t ban devices completely (we’re not that kind of family — and I’ll be honest, sometimes a little screen time still saves the day).
But we decided to start using travel time intentionally.
To make it our chance to slow down, talk, laugh, and build memories that didn’t need to be plugged in.
That’s how Squish Travels was born — not as a travel blog in the traditional sense, but as a way to reimagine travel as connection time.
Whether it’s a drive to the grocery store or a weekend road trip, travel has the power to bring us back to each other.
5 Ways to Turn Travel Time into Connection Time
Below are five of the most powerful ways we’ve used travel to reconnect — and each one has reshaped how we handle the “too much tech” problem.
These ideas will each have their own deep-dive post soon, but here’s an overview to get you started.
1. Create a “Car Time” Ritual (Something That’s Only for the Road)
We discovered that one of the easiest ways to make travel feel special again is to give it its own rhythm.
Something that belongs only to that time together.
For us, it started with a simple rule: the first 15 minutes of every drive are “connection time.”
We might share our favorite part of the day, what we’re looking forward to, or something that made us laugh recently.
Other families might do:
A special travel playlist that everyone adds songs to.
A “story chain,” where each person adds one line to a made-up tale.
A “dream destinations” talk, imagining where you’d go if you could teleport.
It doesn’t have to be deep.
It just has to be yours.
Once it becomes a ritual, kids begin to look forward to it.
The car becomes a safe, cozy, conversation zone — not just another place where screens fill the silence.
2. Build Curiosity with a “See It First” Game
Screens offer constant stimulation — bright colors, quick rewards, endless variety.
But travel offers something screens can’t: the real world unfolding in front of you.
We started playing a game called “See It First.” Whoever spots something interesting outside — a funny sign, a cool animal, a cloud shaped like something — gets a point.
The key is to look together.
Other versions we’ve tried:
Alphabet hunts (“Who can find something starting with A?”)
“Guess that place” — describing a landmark and seeing who recognizes it first.
“Nature scavenger hunts” — spotting rivers, red barns, windmills, etc.
It’s simple, but it shifts the focus from what’s on the screen to what’s around us.
Suddenly, Squish isn’t a passenger anymore — he’s a part of the adventure.
3. Turn Stories into Road Trip Companions
Instead of silence or background music, we started listening to audiobooks and podcasts together.
The magic of this?
Everyone’s imagination gets engaged — no screens needed.
Some of our favorite discoveries came from a single question: “What story do we want to listen to together this week?”
Sometimes it’s funny stories.
Sometimes mysteries.
Sometimes kid-friendly science podcasts that spark big conversations.
And when the episode ends, we talk.
About the characters, the lessons, the funny parts.
It’s no longer just about keeping busy — it’s about sharing an experience.
The car becomes a tiny moving theater, where we all get to imagine and laugh together.
4. Use Travel Time to Talk About Life (The Gentle Way)
Car rides have a secret power — eye contact isn’t required.
For kids (and adults), that can make harder topics easier to talk about.
We started using travel time for what we call “Side-by-Side Conversations.”
Instead of sitting down face-to-face for a big “we need to talk,” we let conversations happen naturally in the car.
We ask things like:
“What’s something that made you proud this week?”
“What’s something that felt hard?”
“If you could change one rule at home, what would it be?”
It’s amazing how much easier it is to talk when you’re both looking at the horizon instead of each other’s faces.
The car became our safe zone — a moving space for real, pressure-free connection.
5. Capture the Journey, Not Just the Destination
One of the biggest shifts came when we decided to start documenting the journey itself.
Before, we’d only take pictures when we arrived somewhere.
But now, we take photos (and sometimes short video clips) of the little moments along the way: the messy car snacks, the weird roadside attractions, the gas station dance parties.
It’s helped Squish see travel as an adventure — not just a wait.
He even started his own “Travel Journal,” where he draws something he saw or writes one line about each trip.
By celebrating the in-between, we’ve learned that the journey can be just as meaningful as the destination — and so much richer than a few hours of screen time.
Why This Works
It’s not about being perfect.
We still have days when someone’s tired, or the music isn’t right, or we cave and hand over the tablet.
But we’ve seen a shift.
The more we turned travel time into connection time, the less we fought the “screen time battle.”
The need for constant digital distraction faded because we replaced it with something better — real presence, shared laughter, and memory-making moments that actually stick.
When kids feel connected, they crave screens less.
When parents feel connected, they fight less.
When families travel with intention, the journey itself becomes a form of bonding — not another battlefield.
A Message to You
If you’re reading this and feeling that familiar tug of guilt — the “we’ve all been there” kind — please know: you’re not alone.
Every parent I know has wrestled with the glow of too many screens and the silence that sometimes comes with it.
We didn’t fix this overnight.
We still get it wrong.
But what we learned is that connection doesn’t require perfection.
It just requires a choice — to look up, to listen, and to make the most of the time we already have together.
So here’s my encouragement to you:
The next time you’re in the car, take one small step.
Ask one question.
Play one game.
Turn one drive into something worth remembering.
You don’t need to go far to start traveling together again.
You just need to begin.
Become a community member—it’s free.
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