When Travel With Kids Feels Overwhelming: How We Found a Gentler Way Forward

The Moment We Finally Admitted: “This Is Too Much.”

Before every family trip, we used to do that quiet little dance all parents know too well: checking bags again, mentally running through packing lists, trying to squeeze tasks into already-full schedules, rushing around the house hoping we didn’t forget something essential.

None of it had anything to do with our son.

He wasn’t the stressful part.
The stress was the weight we were carrying long before the suitcase ever zipped shut.

It was the mental load.
The planning.
The pressure to create something special.
The exhaustion from already being stretched so thin as parents.
The feeling that we had to hold everything together so our child could have a good time.

Then one morning before a weekend trip, as we moved around each other in the kitchen, tired, quiet, and overwhelmed, we finally said it out loud:

“Travel isn’t fun anymore.
And it’s not because of him…
It’s because we are burnt out.”

That was our light-bulb moment.

The problem wasn’t our child.
The problem was that we were out of capacity.

And when you’re out of capacity, even the best parts of parenting feel heavy.

The Decision That Changed Everything

Once we named the real issue, something softened.

We realized we didn’t want our son to grow up believing that travel, this thing that’s supposed to bring joy and adventure, was always stressful for the adults around him.

We wanted him to remember the laughter, the exploring, the silly inside jokes, the tiny joys.

So we made a conscious decision:

We were going to build a gentler travel rhythm, one that supported us as parents, so we could show up as the connected, present version of ourselves we wanted to be.

This shift didn’t happen overnight.
But over time, the way we traveled changed because we changed.

And those changes became the foundation for our six TNT brands, each one addressing a different part of the overwhelm parents carry.

Here’s how each brand can help when travel feels like too much.

How Our Six Brands Help When Travel Feels Heavy for Parents

1. Your Yes Day: Helping You Show Up With a Full Cup

Most of the overwhelm wasn’t about logistics.
It was about us running on fumes before the trip even began.

Your Yes Day helped us rewrite that.

Before we travel now, we check in with ourselves:

• Are we rested enough to handle a long car ride?

• Do we need a moment of quiet before the day starts?

• Have we stretched, breathed, hydrated, or grounded ourselves in any way?

• Are we emotionally prepared, or are we running on autopilot?

This brand taught us that a regulated parent creates a regulated trip.
When we feel okay, everything feels easier, not because our child changes, but because we do.

2. Squish Gardens: Using Nature to Support Our Nervous Systems

We discovered something simple but powerful:
Nature resets overwhelmed parents just as much as it resets kids.

With Squish Gardens, we learned to incorporate nature breaks:

• A few minutes outside before getting in the car

• Letting ourselves breathe real air between transitions

• Touching something natural, grass, tree bark, sunlight, before rushing to the next thing

• Seeking small outdoor moments even during busy travel days

Nature doesn’t fix chaos, but it does create space.
And sometimes that space is all a tired parent really needs.

3. Squish Skills: Building Travel Skills For Us, Not Just the Kid

The truth is, we were expecting ourselves to be “good travelers” without ever building the skills for it.

Travel requires:

• communication

• organization

• flexibility

• time management

• emotional awareness

• realistic planning

And we didn’t always have those skills, at least not consistently.

Squish Skills helped us rethink travel as a skill we could learn together as a family of three.

Now we:

• use family checklists

• choose fewer tasks per day

• set simple travel routines

• give ourselves permission to do things imperfectly

Travel got easier not because our son changed, but because we grew.

4. Squish Travels: Finding Meaning in the Journey, Not Perfection

We used to focus on everything going “right” during travel.
That pressure alone created overwhelm.

Squish Travels shifted our mindset.

This brand reminds us that:

• The goal is connection, not perfection.

• The journey counts just as much as the destination.

• Slow travel is still travel.

• A meaningful moment matters more than a full itinerary.

We now look for small joys, watching the clouds, sharing snacks, telling stories, because those are the things our son will remember.

Not whether we stuck to a minute-by-minute plan.

5. Squish Games: Making Play a Tool for Parent Overwhelm

Fun isn’t just for kids.
Fun is a pressure-release valve for parents too.

When we added small moments of play back into our travel rhythm, we noticed ourselves relax.

With Squish Games, we learned to:

• use games during stressful transitions

• add silliness to ease tension

• play simple question games instead of forcing conversation

• enjoy travel instead of managing it moment-to-moment

Play shifted our energy.
And when the parent energy shifts, the whole trip feels lighter.

6. Better Together: Rebuilding Connection at the Center of Travel

At the heart of it all, we didn’t want travel to feel like crossing items off a list.
We wanted to feel connected, to each other and to our son.

Better Together focuses on that emotional glue.

Now we:

• check in with each other before trips

• talk honestly about what feels heavy

• support each other instead of powering through

• pause to reconnect when things feel off

• end each day with gratitude or a “top moment”

When we stay connected, overwhelm loosens its grip.

Because parenting feels lighter when we don’t carry the emotional load alone.

A Loving Message to You, the Parent Who’s Trying

If traveling with kids feels overwhelming for you right now, please know this:

It doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
It doesn’t mean your child is too much.
It means you have been carrying too much.

We’ve stood in that same place: bags packed, car loaded, and a heaviness in our chest that we didn’t want to admit out loud.

We are not perfect now, and we never will be.
But these shifts, the ones we built into our TNT brands, changed the way we travel, the way we connect, and the way we experience life as a tiny family of three.

And if you’re here reading this?
It means you’re looking for a gentler way too.

That alone is something to be proud of.

So here’s your soft, encouraging call to action:

Choose one thing, just one, that could make your next trip feel a little lighter.
A small ritual.
A mindset shift.
A nature moment.
A play moment.
A connection moment.

Let it be simple.
Let it support you.
Let it make space for a version of travel that fills your family with memories instead of pressure.

We’ll keep walking with you, sharing what’s helped us, and cheering you on as you build a travel rhythm that feels peaceful, doable, and deeply connected.

You’ve got this.
And we’re right here with you.