Travel with Kids Feels Overwhelming: How Squish Gardens Helps Us Breathe Again

The Moment We Realized We Were Drowning in Our Own Travel Stress

We still remember the first time we admitted it out loud: travel with kids feels overwhelming.

Not because our son did anything wrong.

Not because he was “too much.”

But because we were stretched thin, running on low sleep, high expectations, and nonstop logistics that left our nervous systems buzzing long before we even loaded the car.

There was one trip in particular, bags barely zipped, snacks tossed in last-minute, all three of us already a little overstimulated, when we sat in the driveway, looked at each other, and felt that lump-in-the-throat heaviness.

Why does something that should feel exciting suddenly feel like carrying the weight of the world?

It wasn’t anger.
It wasn’t resentment.
It was overwhelm: quiet, creeping, draining overwhelm.

And in that moment, with our son humming happily in the backseat, we had a realization that hit us like a light bulb flicking on:

We weren’t overwhelmed because of travel.

We were overwhelmed because our nervous systems were fried long before we ever left home.

That moment changed everything.

The Decision That Shifted Our Entire Family Rhythm

We knew something had to change, not someday, not when life “calmed down,” but now.

We imagined a different version of family travel…
A version where the car didn’t feel like chaos.
Where transitions didn’t feel like mental gymnastics.
Where our son saw us calm, connected, and present, not tense and overstimulated.

We imagined beginning every family adventure from a place of full cups instead of empty ones.

And that vision, that spark, led us to one unexpected place:

Nature.

The simple routines, grounding moments, and nervous-system resets we discovered through Squish Gardens.

We didn’t overhaul our life.
We didn’t move to a farm.
We didn’t dedicate hours we didn’t have.

We just started making nature a quiet part of our everyday life…
and it changed the way we travel more than we ever thought possible.

Squish Gardens: Using Nature to Support Our Nervous Systems (So Travel Feels Easier Again)

When we say “Squish Gardens helps with travel overwhelm,” we’re not talking about planting a massive garden or becoming homesteaders.

We’re talking about micro-moments with nature that reset your body’s stress response, so when you load the car, pack the suitcases, or walk through an airport, you’re already grounded.

Here’s how nature became our secret weapon, and how it can help you too.

1. Nature as a Daily Nervous System Reset

Before we ever fix travel overwhelm, we fix us.
We learned that even 5 minutes outside lowers cortisol, shifts breath patterns, and resets overstimulation.

How we do it:

• Morning step-outside-for-one-minute ritual

• Touching the soil in our raised beds before breakfast

• Watering plants with our son as a way to “start the day calm”

• Having him find one “tiny treasure” in the yard to bring in (rock, leaf, acorn)

It seems so small… but it changes the way our body carries stress into travel days.

2. Gardening as a Practice of Slowing Down (So We Don’t Rush Everything Else)

We realized something wild:
When we learned to slow down in the garden, we started slowing down everywhere else.

Gardening taught us patience.
It taught us presence.
It taught us that not everything needs to happen right now.

And that shift made travel smoother, fewer frantic moments, fewer raised voices, fewer “we’re late!” panics.

How this plays out on travel days:

• We start getting ready earlier

• We pause for breath instead of pushing through chaos

• We talk to our son with more gentleness and intention

• We don’t rush the morning, we ground it

3. Bringing Nature Into the Car (Nervous System Tools That Actually Help)

One of the biggest discoveries: kids travel better when their nervous systems feel safe and grounded, and so do we.

We started bringing tiny pieces of nature along for the drive:

• A small calming rock for him to hold

• Dried lavender in a small fabric pouch

• Nature sound playlists

• A mini “garden bag” with leaves, sticks, and treasures he’s collected

These small, sensory items help him feel rooted, and they help us stay calm too.

4. Using Backyard Time to Practice Transitions (So Travel Transitions Aren’t Meltdowns)

This was huge.

We learned that kids struggle with transitions not because they’re misbehaving, but because their nervous systems don’t know what’s coming next.

Practicing transitions outside (where the environment is calming) helped our son learn:

• “We’re leaving in five minutes”

• “One more play before we go”

• “It’s time to shift to the next thing”

Travel transitions became easier because life transitions became easier.

5. Letting Nature Become the First Step of Every Trip

Now, before we load the car or head to the airport, we do one simple thing:

We step outside together.

Sometimes we take three deep breaths.
Sometimes we stretch.
Sometimes our son picks a rock to bring.
Sometimes we just stand in the quiet for a moment.

It changes everything.

We begin regulated.
We begin connected.
We begin from calm, not chaos.

You Are Not Alone, and You Deserve a Travel Experience That Feels Calm

If you’ve ever sat in your car before a family trip feeling overwhelmed…

If you’ve ever looked at the bags and felt the stress rising before you even turn the key…

If you’ve ever wished travel could feel lighter, easier, calmer…

Please know this:

You are not alone.
You are not failing.
Your nervous system is simply tired, just like ours was.

And it can get better.

Small nature routines.
Little grounding moments.
Tiny rituals that bring calm back into your body.

Those are the changes that shifted everything for us, and we believe they can shift things for you too.

We’re not perfect.
We still have messy travel days.
But we are so much more regulated, connected, and present than we used to be, and Squish Gardens played a huge role in that.

If travel feels overwhelming right now… this might be your first small step toward ease.

Try one 60-second nature moment today.
Just one.

Your nervous system, your child, and your future travel days will thank you.

You deserve to breathe.
You deserve calm.
And we’re right here, walking this journey with you.