Vacation and family travel can pose trouble for parents who have a set sleep schedule for their children. In this episode of The Lab, we offer a few tips on how to manage sleep when you're traveling. Daddy Brad shares some ideas that he uses when he takes a road trip with his family. Things like small gifts, stopping at malls, and making use of the swimming pool at hotels can keep your kids busy while on the road. For air travel, Daddy Clay talks with Sara Keagle of TheFlyingPinto.com who shares tips on how to manage sleep when flying. How do you manage sleeping schedules when you travel? Let us know at DadLabs.com. DadLabs Ep. 742 is brought to you by BabyBjorn.

Daddy Clay: It's taken months, but you're finally on a healthy and productive sleep schedule with your kids.
Daddy Brad: But along comes vacation and your schedule gets pancaked by planes, trains and automobiles.
Daddy Clay: Today in The Lab, it's all about taking your sleep schedule on the road. Today's Lab is brought to you by BabyBjorn's Travel Crib Lite. 11 pounds, sets up in seconds. The Travel Crib Lite from BabyBjorn. Ready, steady, sleep. So many issues when it comes to kids, transportation and sleep. First of all, there's categories like are you talking about traveling from A to B like transit sleep. Or sleep when you arrive at your vacation, we can call that destination sleep. Well today, we're focusing on transit sleep. And of course, the strategy there depends largely on the mode of transportation that you're using.
Daddy Brad: For us, family vacation means road trip. To make travel time as smooth as possible, we've got a couple of tricks. Number one, maximize sleep time and drive time. Leave right before nap time, or right before bedtime. That way, kids sleep while you travel. Number two, wrap up a bunch of presents like this little doggie figurine and give it to them throughout the trip. A few minutes to open and then some play time with this might get you 45 minutes of peace and quiet. That's 50 miles. Number three, if there are malls along your route, stop at the malls during mealtime. Go to the food court and then let the kids run around the mall. Tire them out. Then they might get back in the car and sleep a little more. If you can, stay at a hotel with a pool. That's a big carrot for kids. Kids love pools. They'll swim and they'll be tired and they'll go to sleep. And they'll be rested the next morning.
Daddy Clay: My in-laws live on the other side of the country. So for us, a family vacation means taking to the air. Should we treat air travel just like a road trip and plan our flights to coincide with nap and sleep times? To get some perspective, I spoke with the mom and blogger behind The Flying Pinto, Sara Keagle.
Sara Keagle:  I don't think it's necessarily a good idea to try to get with the sleep schedule. They're gonna sleep okay on the plane, not the greatest. I always advise, and I think especially with families, it's important to get going as early as possible. Because the flights, you're gonna have less hassle. You're not gonna be cancelled or delayed as much. So I think it's better to get everybody up early. Maybe they'll catch a nap on the plane. And then I think they'll be better to go in that situation than if you got them on a red eye flight and expected the day to be normal the next day.
Daddy Clay: Traveling with children over the age of two who are required by new airline rules to have their own seats can be a pricey proposition. Now a lot of parents will shop using research tools like Orbitz or Kayak to find the very cheapest flight. But direct flights are a huge bonus. What's it worth? In our family, we have a rule of thumb. $75 per traveler is what we're willing to pay for the peace of mind of a direct flight. What it's worth to you may vary. Now we've all heard stories of parents giving their kids Benadryl to knock them out for a long flight. We're not particularly fans of this. Not judging. We just don't think it's the best thing. Really, the most important night for sleep for kids is the night before travel. If they're well-rested, they're more likely to be able to cope with any inconveniences or delays along the way. But the night before is full of excitement and they may have trouble sleeping. If you're gonna dose your kids with Benadryl, the night before is the time to do it.
Sara: I don't believe in giving kids the Benadryl to get them to sleep. I think that really kind of messes with your histamines and all that kind of stuff. I think just try to bring some comforts from home, whether it's a little stuffed animal or blanket that they carry. Foods, brings snacks that they're used to. Just kind of bring as much as you can that they're gonna be comfortable with on the plane.
Daddy Brad:  Well, I like it that the experts are laid back. Don't worry about it. It's a good attitude. I feel the same way. You know, it's vacation, relax.
Daddy Clay: Well, we feel the same way now. But it took us sort of three kids to get there. With the oldest, all activity had to cease. Vacation had to stop for nap time. Now the youngest one, he has to nap where he falls.
Daddy Brad: And you're okay with that?
Daddy Clay: Totally. Wish we'd gotten there sooner.
Daddy Brad: Well, we want to know how you manage your kids sleep during traveling and vacation. Go to DadLabs.com and join the conversation.
Daddy Clay: And we what to thank our sponsors, BabyBjorn, maker of the 11-pound Travel Crib Lite. Sets up in seconds, ready steady sleep in the Travel Crib Lite from BabyBjorn.
Daddy Brad: That's all for us here in The Lab. We'll see you next time.