Emilie Kiser knows she made a mistake when she let her young son not wear a life jacket on a boat last month and will own up to it. But she won’t stand for any false claims being made about her parenting amid the controversy.
In July, the influencer faced backlash by fans after her friend Madi Curtis posted (and later deleted) a video of their trip to Mallorca. In the clip, you can clearly see Emilie’s 1-year-old son Teddy on the boat in the middle of the ocean without said safety gear.
Related: Emilie Kiser Opens Up About Feeling Like An ‘Unfit’ Mother After Trigg’s Death
The video stunned social media users because she tragically lost her 3-year-old son Trigg when he drowned in their backyard pool while under husband Brady‘s care. She has since preached about the importance of pool safety. So when her youngest son didn’t wear a life jacket while out at sea, it got her in a lot of trouble online. Emilie later acknowledged the backlash, saying they “should have done better.”
She now wants to further apologize for her actions while addressing the speculation about her life! Taking to TikTok on August 14, she said:
“I know that I have made mistakes, and I know that I am an imperfect human, and that sometimes I say or I do things that can be confusing. Over the course of the last year, our family has been no stranger to tragedy and how quickly life can change. … In recent events, which I’ve already talked about, I know that it can be very confusing, frustrating, make people angry that I have talked about water safety over the course of the last year and then recently 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, and I know that I am not perfect. I know that we make mistakes, and all I can say is that I’m sorry, and that I know we made a mistake and that I will do nothing but my best to be the best parent I can be moving forward. I know how much I love my children and care about them and their safety.”
According to Emilie, she only took off the life jacket for a few moments because Teddy became fussy on the boat ride. But she says she knows it was the wrong move:
“He was fussy, and we 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, which is why I understand that this is an important conversation that is happening around water safety with life jackets. Because even though in the moment it seemed like the right thing to do for our child, I understand that anything could have happened and something could have gone wrong.”
But due to the controversy, there has been a lot of talk about Trigg’s death over the past few weeks. It has also sparked several misconceptions about her family, including a hurtful rumor that she and Brady continue to swim in the pool where her son died:
“We have not, we will not and we do not swim in our swimming pool where our child drowned. I am extremely angry at times and overall just really sad and hurt that this is even something that has been rumored or speculated, but I just want it to be known that that is not something that happens in our backyard, and we are barely able to step foot in our backyard. So I really hope that that rumor can just end now that I’m addressing it, because especially in the honor of our son and the way that he tragically lost his life, and even having our son in swim lessons is hard. We do not swim in our swimming pool.”
Emilie also stressed that the parents take safety very seriously. She clarified that despite what people are saying online, her family does have a fence around their pool. The content creator knows some people think it is “too little, too late” after Trigg’s death, but she is being cautious to prevent future accidents. She also confirmed Teddy is in ISR, or Infant Swimming Resource, classes despite speculation he isn’t. In fact, he is in his second round of lessons, and “he’s doing amazing.” We are glad to hear that!
Choking up, Emilie got real about the toll the public’s judgements about her every move have taken on her since Trigg’s death:
“I am exhausted, and it is impossible to prove to people who want to see nothing but the worst in you that you have good intentions, or that you are telling the truth, or that those things are not true. I know that there are always going to be people who are going to take everything I say and twist it, and that has scared me for a long time, especially the last year. I feel like I can’t say anything right. I can’t do anything right. I can’t talk about my grief because if I talk about my grief, then people think I’m doing it with the wrong intentions, or I’m trying to monetize off of it.”
Look, no one is a perfect parent. That’s just impossible in life. And constantly attacking her over a mistake will not help anyone involved. Let’s have some grace and cool it with the hate comments over the situation. Watch her entire video (below):
[Image via Emilie Kiser/Instagram/TikTok]