An influencer whose 3-year-old son drowned more than a year ago has apologized for letting her 16-month-old sit on a boat without a life jacket, telling followers it was a lapse in judgment she deeply regrets.<\/p>\n
Emilie Kiser, who announced last month that she\u2019s pregnant again, faced intense criticism after recently posting a photo of her younger son, Teddy, on a watercraft without a life vest during a family outing.<\/p>\n
Kiser\u2019s older son, Trigg, 3, drowned in a pool at the family\u2019s Arizona home in May 2025, police said at the time. Authorities found the boy unconscious. Kiser\u2019s husband, Brady Kiser, said he had been briefly distracted while watching Trigg while his wife was away. Investigators ultimately declined to file criminal charges against Brady Kiser in connection with the toddler\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Emilie Kiser\u2019s social media following has made her family\u2019s parenting choices a frequent subject of public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the course of the last year, our family has been no stranger to tragedy and how quickly life can change,\u201d Kiser said in her Friday-evening post. \u201cWe lost our son Trigg a little over a year ago to a preventable drowning and we will forever and always take accountability for the ways that we went wrong and the things that we didn\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since returning to social media after Trigg\u2019s death, Kiser has regularly posted about water safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently we had our son out of a life jacket for moments on a boat. I understand this conversation. I think it is important. It holds people accountable,\u201d Kiser said, adding that she\u2019s \u201cnot perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know we made a mistake and that I will do nothing but my best to be the best parent I can be moving forward,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Kiser said she and her husband let Teddy remove the jacket briefly because \u201che was fussy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe decided to take a few moments to calm him down and we see now that that was a mistake and that there is no reason ever why a child should be out of a life jacket,\u201d Kiser said.<\/p>\n
Responding to questions from followers, Kiser said Teddy is enrolled in an Infant Swimming Resource program, which teaches water survival skills to young children. She has also previously urged parents to get CPR training in case of an emergency.<\/p>\n
Shayna Jacobs is a national reporter for NBC News digital.<\/p>\n