Mommy Influencer Emilie Kiser Slammed for Exposing Toddler on Boat Without Life Jacket After Tragic Drowning

Emilie Kiser, a mommy influencer, is under fire after a video surfaced showing her 16-month-old son on a boat without a life jacket, just one year after her 3-year-old son Trigg drowned in their family pool.

The clip, uploaded and later deleted by fellow influencer Madi Curtis, sparked outrage as it depicted Theodore “Teddy” Kiser sitting alongside his father, Brady Kiser, during a family vacation in Spain last month.

Curtis’ daughter was also seen without a life jacket, while her son wore an orange vest. Spanish law mandates that all children under 13 must wear life jackets on moving recreational boats.

Critics quickly questioned the lack of safety measures for Kiser’s toddler near water, especially given the tragic drowning of Trigg at their Arizona home’s pool in May 2025.

“Emilie’s son drowned in a pool while her husband was betting on DraftKings. She didn’t install a pool gate because it clashed with the design of her house,” conservative podcaster Katie Miller stated in a recent post.

“Now, her surviving one-year-old was boating without a life jacket. A parent’s job is the safety and security of their kids, not aesthetic social media,” Miller added.

Kiser, 27, who is pregnant with her third child and has over 7 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, responded to the backlash in a statement shared on social media.

“Our child should have been in his life jacket for the entirety of that boat ride, not even for the few moments that he was out of it,” she wrote. “We are painfully aware that in a matter of seconds, your entire life can change, and we should have done better.”

Kiser expressed gratitude to supporters for their “genuine care” toward her children and acknowledged the “deep level of anger and hurt directed toward our family.”

“It comes from the belief that Trigg should still be here, and we share in that same belief more than can be expressed,” Kiser said.

“We will continue to do better, advocate for better and, as hard as we try to avoid them, still make mistakes. We can only promise that we will never stop learning from them and continue loving our children with everything we have,” she concluded.

Kiser has previously emphasized the importance of water safety since Trigg's drowning incident in May 2025. Brady reported losing sight of Trigg after he went outside following dinner and was distracted by their five-week-old baby. Investigators revealed Trigg was alone for nearly 10 minutes and submerged for about seven before being recovered.

No fence surrounded the pool.

Trigg died on May 18, six days after being pulled from the water.

Kiser discussed forgiving her husband during an emotional appearance on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast last month, where she also shared tips for keeping children safe around water.

“The main thing I hope people can take away from what Trigg went through and what our family went through is just, once again, that it’s preventable,” Kiser stated.

“If you have a pool and you have a young child, get a pool fence. I know there are other options – I was there. I chose a net. I regret it,” she admitted, urging parents to enroll their kids in swim lessons early and dress them in brightly-colored swimsuits for visibility.

In the controversial boat video, Teddy was seen wearing a white swimsuit during the voyage around Mallorca.

Megan Ferraro, executive director of the ZAC Foundation dedicated to drowning prevention, expressed disappointment over the incident. “I think Emilie has a real opportunity to educate her followers about safety around the water and general safe parenting strategies,” Ferraro said.

“Drowning is the leading cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4, full stop. So when we have kids in this age range, we need to take these layers of protection seriously,” Ferraro added.