Olympic Skier Bode Miller Says His Kids 'Love Sports' — But 'None of Them Seem to Be Interested in Following in My Footsteps'

Bode Miller may have a slew of Olympic medals from alpine skiing, but it doesn't look like his kids — sons Nash, Easton, twins Asher and Askel, whom he shares with wife Morgan Miller and son Nate and daughter Dace from previous relationships — will be taking over from him when it comes to the sport. (Miller shared daughter Emeline, who died in a tragic drowning accident in 2018 when she was just 19 months old, with his wife.)

"They don't listen to me anyway, but they love sports. I like them being outside. These days, video games are such a huge, huge part because technology is moving so quickly, it's challenging as a parent," the athlete, 47, exclusively tells OK! while talking about his partnership with Coverstar automatic covers to help educate and prevent childhood drowning. "They all play sports. They all ski, but none of them seem interested in following in my footsteps, which is fine with us. As long as they are happy and healthy."

However, Bode notes it's a "battle" to get them outside sometimes. "We're always finding fun stuff to do outside — that's the idea," he shares. "Park City is great that way or Big Sky, where we just were. We still spend a lot of time out there, and they have great outdoor communities. It's a lot easier when your whole community is kind of based around outdoor activities and fun and being out in nature."

As for how the New Hampshire native, who married Morgan in 2012, balances it all, he admits it can be tough. "90 percent of my life is based around the kids," he says. "It's hard when there's that many of them because they do need one-on-one time — and that's difficult when there's so many. We try to prioritize pulling one aside and doing something that that kid wants to do. That's fun because you really have to immerse yourself in their world and not do what you want to do. That's been a lot of fun to try to figure that out."

Fortunately, most of them still give their dad the seal of approval. "It's a mix, but every once in a while, they will brag that I was good at skiing," he quips. "It seems like most of the time we're just facilitating what they want to do! My daughter, who is 17, is such a sweetheart. She still at least pretends to think we're cool and likes to spend time with us — but the other ones are small enough where they're pretty reliant."

In the meantime, since the couple has been outspoken about their daughter unfortunately dying in 2018, it made sense for him to partner with Coverstar automatic covers to help educate and prevent childhood drowning, especially since May is Water Safety Month.

"I wish Water Safety Month was year round, but it's certainly more common this time of year. It's great to talk about it. I want to bring awareness to the danger and risk without trying to villainize it. Water is awesome and super fun — every kid loves to jump in the pool. You just want to make sure you're aware of what your options are, what products are available to mitigate risk and what to do or not do a a parent, supervisor or grandparent to keep people safe," he explains. "I'm happy to partner with Coverstar and talk about their automatic safety cover turns. It completely mitigates risk, and there's no way through it when it's closed. I love that there's products like this coming out that are kind of innovative. I need people to be aware of what their options are."

Going forward, Bode just wants to educate others so that no one has to go through what he did. "There's a lot of information out there, but you have to engage with that information, having watchers at the water when kids are in the pool is critical, lock doors, there's a whole layering system. It's not just an amazing fun play area, which is where Coverstar's automatic safety cover comes in — when you're not using it or when you want that kind of peace of mind and close it, you don't have to worry about it being a water source. That's important for people to know about — or at least know it's an option," he says.

He adds, "It's the number one leading cause of accidental death for kids one to four. After having gone through it, there was a lot I wish I'd known, and now it falls on us. If you have information, make sure people are aware and know the resources are out there to go get information and figure out good solutions of how to mitigate risk and keep people safe — and still really enjoy the water because it's all around and it's not just your pool, but your neighbor's pool. It's a conversation that needs to be more common and more thorough."

Ultimately, Bode says "our family is really strong" following the incident. "We do still talk about our daughter all of the time, and I think having our family be advocates for water safety is important. It's an honor to her," he concludes.