When Paul booked the family's beach house for the summer, the first question from his teens was: Does it have Wi-Fi?
If it didn't, they weren't interested in going.
The family was safe to vacation there, he informed them. It offered their life-blood connection to the Internet. Paul, who wanted to avoid publicly calling out his children, is hardly alone in this struggle.
But it's not just digital natives who are scared of missing out, anxious about being disconnected, unaccustomed to boredom and glued to their devices. It's the ones paying for the vacation, as well.
Amy Bartlett, a spokeswoman for Yellowstone National Park, says about 15 to 20 percent of the park has cellphone coverage.
"Some folks come and they are grateful for that -- having all members of the family, including teenagers, disconnected," she said. "And there are people who want to be tapped in 24/7 and have the ability to check whatever they want to check, whenever they want."
She has had to explain: "We're a national park. There is wild land. You're not going to have cell coverage everywhere.
"That's just the nature of being in the wilderness," she said.
In the spots where cellphone coverage is available, there are so many people trying to access it at once in the summer (during vacations, presumably) that many people can't connect, she said.
Steve and Debbie Millett, of St. Louis, didn't intend on a tech-free vacation with their two children last month, but when they were in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, they were all forced to unplug completely for a couple days.
"It was quite eye-opening for me, actually, to realize how much I missed it," Debbie said. "I saw one guy on our bus on his phone one day at Sequoia and I was like, 'HOW ARE YOU ON THE PHONE!?'" (It turned out that he had Verizon as his cell provider; she has AT&T. She was very jealous.)
"Many of the adults were constantly checking phones for signals," she said.
In fairness, we rely on our phones to get directions, find hotels or restaurants, check the weather, monitor flights, and take and share photos. This technology helps vacations function more smoothly.
The notion of going cold turkey on tech didn't appeal to a St. Louis mother of three daughters.
"Even on planes and in cars?" she asked. "Hell, no."
She liked the idea of trying to be tech-free once they arrived at a destination, but worried about whether she would be able to stick to it herself.
It's not a vacation if you're all miserable.
There are ways to limit the negative effects of tech dependence without going to extremes. Common Sense Media suggests an "inside/outside" rule: Tech is allowed in the house or at night, but the daytime is reserved for exploring and talking to one another.
Set aside sacred times, like meals, to be tech-free. When you do have screen time, make it a family thing: Have a family video game or movie night, so everyone is sharing the experience. For those who love to take pictures, create a daily family photo contest.
Put the child whose ears are constantly plugged with earbuds in charge of making a family playlist to enjoy during car rides.
It's easy to turn off the data plan on devices, so family members can still take pictures and make calls, but cannot use data except over Wi-Fi.
Taking these steps can limit technology-induced isolation during what should be special family time.
The greatest temptation for a child with a phone is to retreat and isolate oneself physically, emotionally and mentally. Parents can't compete with a phone's promise of constant interaction with friends back home -- especially since, at a certain age, our children barely tolerate our presence.
We can remember how we handled downtime on family vacations before we could carry all our entertainment in our pockets: We played cards or board games. Read books. Talked to one another. Made up silly games.
It might sound quaint to imagine being able to recreate that today, especially with teens. But, if expectations are communicated early on, incentives offered and buy-in established before the trip, it's not outside the realm of possibility.
The days with limited technology access made the Milletts' trip richer, Steve said. "(The kids) had to think how to manage time when there was no instant stimulus or activity," he said.
Family vacations are an investment -- of our time, money and effort. They are planned with the hopes of enjoying time with the people we love and creating fond memories.
Consider unplugging as part of the cost.