Mortified mother finds out what her toddler did to grandfather’s ashes

A mother from Lincolnshire in the UK had a shocking and strange experience when she found out her one-year-old son, Koah, had eaten some of his grandfather’s ashes. The whole thing was caught on video, and after it was shared on TikTok, it went viral, getting a lot of attention. People reacted in different ways—some were stunned, while others found it oddly funny.

Natasha Emeny, Koah’s mom, had stepped out of the living room for a short time to put away laundry. When she came back, she saw something disturbing: Koah was covered in gray ash, and the urn holding her father’s ashes was empty, with ash spilled all around it. The little boy looked upset, almost like he knew he’d done something he wasn’t supposed to.

The video she took afterward showed Koah with ash smeared on his face and clothes, making it clear just how much he’d gotten into the ashes. At first, Emeny was completely shocked and horrified. It’s an understandable reaction, and hard to imagine happening.

Toddler ate grandfather’s ashes

She had put the urn on a high shelf, thinking it was safely out of Koah’s reach. But somehow, the toddler managed to get to it and play with the ashes—even eating a small amount. Emeny made sure to say that Koah didn’t swallow much of the ashes and seemed perfectly fine otherwise. After checking with a doctor, she was told that giving Koah some water was all that was needed.

This isn’t neglect; this is just how kids are as they get older. Anyone who has children knows how well they can climb once they learn how to. So this is just another horror tale of being a parent, but the child didn’t know any better.

The video of what happened spread quickly online, reaching millions of people. Reactions were mixed—some were stunned and couldn’t believe it, while others saw the dark humor in the situation. Emeny herself was embarrassed at first, but later, she admitted to The Sun that there was something darkly funny about it. She even said her father probably would have laughed at the whole thing. She made it clear that Koah was okay and that everything had mostly been resolved.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. There have been other stories in the news about kids getting into a family member’s ashes, though the details are always a little different. For example, the New York Post reported a mom in Colorado who found out her sons might have eaten their grandfather’s ashes. It’s more common than you think.