and made them wear hats,

Take hats with you , don't think its easy to get kiddy's ( that are suitable ) hats
Look for much more than a base ball hat , protect the neck .

My choice is a large ( make that very large ) beanie style, with floppy brim.
And insist they wear them .... set a good example .

Ps I was also In Side , when the ornamental temp gauge showed 55 plus

But guessing it was a genuine 42 plus in the shade.

Can understand some posters recommending that you don't take young children to very hot climes in August but it really is the way you respond to that heat rather than the heat itself, and due to strict school rulings on not taking kiddies out of school except during holiday periods many parents are sadly limited to just when they can go away. But the fact is that we Brits are ill prepared for the heat and tend to overdo things within the first few days spending the rest of our holiday either laid up with a dreaded tummy upset or tortured with terrible sunburn. My husband is from the middle east so it always makes him shake his head when he sees the milk-bottle white English holidaymakers lying out for hours in the mid-day sun, remarking that they will probably end up in the local doctor's surgery within 24 hours.
The best thing to do is get up early like the locals do and let your kids play happily on the beach or next to the pool until the sun is too hot, then go for a siesta, get up mid/late afternoon, and let them play again, remembering of course that even in the early morning or mid/late afternoon it will be hot so you must still apply plenty of sunblock and keep the sun-hats firmly in place. Give plenty of water to drink and whenever possible get them to spend a little down-time in the shade, perhaps getting them to build a sand-castle in the shade of the umbrella. Then, if your kids have had a siesta mid-day, just like the local kids they will be able to stay up late without getting tired and grumpy.
It can be done, but you need to stop thinking 'English' and start thinking 'Turkish'.

I agree Ardath, I always get up early with the girls and go to the pool or beach, it is better for them then too as the pool is usually empty. Then when it gets too hot we go inside somewhere and have some lunch then my husband takes the girls for a sleep while I eithr chill by the pool or if it is really hot I will sit on the balcony and read (I don't like to sleep in the day). That way the girls are able to stay up until late (well around 11pm) in the evening without feeling tired.

It always surprised me though when I lived in Turkey that all the children used to play out in the sun all day and none of the parents ever used sun cream or hats even on the beach. They were also up until very late every night and up early in the morning, I know my children need a lot more sleep than that!

Re; Hats... I always get my daughter to wear this kind of hat. They are made of swimsuit material and are really light on their heads, I think she forgets she is wearing it at times! The uv suits and hats have been the best thing we've ever bought for Poppy for our hols, give me total piece of mind while she is playing and in the pool all day, those and factor 50 suncream, not once has she caught even the slightest hint of the sun.

http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/images/products/fullsize/67302.jpg

Image replaced by link for copyright reasons. Dazbo HT Mod

My girls wear those hats and their uv swim suits too, although they also have little swim suits for early morning and late afternoon. They do catch the sun very easily and go very brown but that is their half Turkish colouring.

Thank you all for your replies. When we went halft term in May last year we loved it and we was very careful, we were up early around the pool,then at 12.00 we would be having our luch, the kids would then take part in any club activities which were under cover at the Aegean dreams in Turgutries, then it was time for there naps. UV Suits and hats always on including me and hubby. We are visiting spain 24/08 for the first time for 10 nights so will see how they cope there.

Thank you all again xx

Marmaris June 2009

hi all
we took our daughter to turkey mid july and she was fine
we are going to lara beach antalya in june
which is hottest marmaris or lara beach
if anyonw knows it would be helpful
thanks pam x

Have only been to Marmaris, but when choosing between Antalya and Marmaris before booking last year we checked the weather in both places and I seem to recall that both were very hot in the summer.
If anyone is looking for cooler summer weather in the summer Turkey is not the place for them, would recommend northern France, Austria, or Germany, if anyone is concerned about the heat.

Loobiej
to be fair this is realy only a question that you can answer yourself.
i.e how are you kids at home in hot weather? if they are ok then they will probably be ok in turkey, if they have never experienced a hot summer then thats a chance you will have to take, to find out, but if it were me i would look for apartments close to the beach or pool with aircon included, so if you need to you have some refuge (but this will not help in the evenings as the temp can still be up in the 30`s if you are eating out) but as i said before only you as a parent can judge what you believe your children will be comfortable with.

sorry to sound negative but i feel only too often these questions are put to turkey regulars (but we do not know your children) so cannot be completley honest with you.

OBTW we are taking our grandson, daughter and son in law next year in august so we have considered what you are thinking too.

What ever you decide i hope you have a fantastic summer with your family.

Andy