Nearly 1 Year After Daughter Drowned, Bode Miller Teaches 6-Month-Old Son How To Float

“Approximately 830 children ages 14 and under drown every year,” according to Stanford Children’s Health. Of those 830, most are between the ages of 1 and 4.

As summer nears, dread sets in. We always hope to hear fewer stories of young children falling into swimming pools, discovered too late to be saved.

Sadly, drowning accidents will occur. The best thing we can do is to raise awareness and share the best precautions possible that parents can take.

Olympic skier Bode Miller and his wife, Morgan Beck Miller, lost their 19-month-old daughter, Emmy, in 2018 after she fell into a swimming pool at a neighbor’s house.

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Merry Christmas to our baby girl in heaven. We miss you so much! …….. 2018 has been a year full of overwhelming sadness and overwhelming joy. We have spent half of the year mourning and attempting to heal the loss of our angel which feels like an impossible battle all while celebrating the birth of our son. Seeking normalcy for our children has been our driving force forward. Normally I would be looking forward to a “fresh beginning” in 2019 but there is no more starting fresh after the loss of a child. So here’s to a healthy 2019 full of personal growth and creating many memories with my babies, full of smiles and laughs. Wishing everyone a special holiday season surrounded by loved ones.

A post shared by Morgan Miller (@morganebeck) on Dec 25, 2018 at 11:42am PST

“I turned around and the door that leads to the backyard — that was closed — had this tiny sliver of light coming through the side,” Morgan Miller told “Today” at the time.

“And my heart sank,” she continued. “And I opened the door and she was floating in the pool. And I ran and I jumped in.”

 

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We are beyond devastated. Our baby girl, Emmy, passed away yesterday. Never in a million years did we think we would experience a pain like this. Her love, her light, her spirit will never be forgotten. Our little girl loved life and lived it to it’s fullest everyday. Our family respectfully requests privacy during this painful time.

A post shared by Morgan Miller (@morganebeck) on Jun 11, 2018 at 4:04pm PDT

After Emmy’s death, the couple spoke about the experience in the midst of their grief. Now they want everyone to know just how serious and common childhood drowning accidents are.

The newest member of the Miller family, Easton, is just 6 months old. Because of their tragic loss, the Millers have made it their mission to ensure what happened to Emmy doesn’t happen to their son.

 

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I haven’t formally introduced our little light, Easton Vaughn Rek Miller. He is so special and has brought so much healing and hope. Our baby Emmy will never be replaced but man, has this little bundle allowed us to feel a small sense of peace and in a weird way, a connection between the heavens and earth #lifeafterdeath

A post shared by Morgan Miller (@morganebeck) on Feb 2, 2019 at 2:53pm PST

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Easton is learning water survival skills via a method that has grown increasingly popular with each year that more infant and toddler swimming pool deaths occur.

Infant Swimming Resource has instructors all over the United States. Their mission states they want to make it so “not one more child drowns.”

 

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Morgan Miller shared some video clips of Easton’s ISR swim lesson in her Instagram story. Though the little man didn’t seem too happy about being in the water, the goal of the 10-minute lesson was met.

“I cried tears of hope watching my baby boy learn this life saving skill,” Miller wrote in her story, according to “Today.”

“And then tears of sadness because it was all I had to do to keep my baby girl here.”

My heart goes out to this sweet family. As a parent, I am so grateful they have shared their story. It has truly motivated me to look into ISR instruction for my own children.

Have you seen this survival method used before? While supervision and proper safeguards should always be first, a child can drown in seconds. Teaching them to float and swim at an early age may be the difference between life and death.

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