What every Parent in the Hamptons needs to know!

From Kim Lenar Ehrhardt

I used to work in media in Germany. Every summer we would get footage of kids almost drowning, or indeed dying. And we do not have that many backyard pools in Germany. One year we got footage from a paparazzi in Los Angeles. It showed a mother running to an ambulance where doctors were fighting for the life of her 4 year old. The boy died. It had been a pool party. The caretaker had been there with the kid. It happened within minutes.
The mom was a German celebrity, so it made the news. She is also a friend I like and admire a lot. The image never left me. Today I am a mom of two boys myself. And the panic is always there. I tried everything to make sure my son knows how to swim. Took him to Safety swim in Riverhead, paid an instructor to stand in my pool - while my son stood outside and refused to go in. I guess he was not ready. And maybe my panic had rubbed off on him. 

Now he is 5 years old and he actually WANTS to go in. So I hired Liz Parry from Hamptons Swim to tell me where he is really at and what I can do to help him. It was a game changer. She used the right words, strategies and moves to not only have him be ok with putting his head under (and he used to scream bloody murder when I tried washing his hair..) he is diving now. Swimming under water. And he is most likely the proudest little guy on the planet. 

And yes, swim lessons in the Hamptons quickly seem like a financial investment - but if they result in what I have been seeing the last days, then it is worth it. Because there really is no price tag to be put on that peace of mind, and I know we are not done with this, I will still watch him like a hawk in the water. But I know that he is getting better and better in there. 

What is Liz doing differently than other instructors? What are the signs for parents to watch out for and what are the most important rules to water safety with kids? I asked her all about it in our first episode of THE HAMPTONS REAL TALK, our brand new little interview series from and about everything Hamptons.

Watch the video! And tell us your experiences with getting your kids to swimming please. What worked for you? We would love to hear from you in the comments!