Question for 8yo daughter sickens Aussie swimming icon Libby Trickett

Aussie swimming icon Libby Trickett has shared her horrified reaction to a question that was asked of her eight-year-old daughter.

Aussie swimming icon Libby Trickett has shared her horrified reaction to a question that was asked of her eight-year-old daughter.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist is receiving praise for sending a powerful message about body image following her decision to speak publicly about the incident with eight-year-old daughter Poppy.

The 38-year-old, who has four children, watched a heartbreaking scene when her daughter was asked about her weight.

She has now shared her response to the moment with a message for her Instagram followers.

“I had someone close to us say to my eight-year-old daughter today, ‘wow you look like you’ve lost weight. Have you lost weight? You look great’,” Mrs Trickett explained.

“My daughter is eight.”

Former Olympic swimmer Libby Trickett has shared a strong message to parents. Picture: Tara Croser.

Libby Trickett at home with her children. Picture: Richard Walker.

She went on to say: “We need to do better as a society in the way we speak to our young kids. We need to do better as a society in how we speak about ourselves.

“Yes, we need to do better in front of our kids and how we speak to ourselves, we need to do better in moments alone and how we speak to ourselves about our bodies.

An emotional Libby Trickett shares her disappointment over her daughter being asked if she's lost weight. Picture: Supplied

“Because that is going to influence how we talk to our kids about their bodies, we need to do better.

“She’s eight, I mean this is how it happens right, we create an environment where our value as a human becomes about how we look and how thin we are and I will do everything in my power to protect my children from that and to love their bodies as they are because they are amazing.”

The post received more than 5000 likes across the weekend.

Trickett has been a powerful voice for social change in recent years.

She made headlines in December by calling for parents to zip it when watching their kids play sport.

Writing in Mamamia, Trickett pointed out data shows the participation rate of Australian kids in sport plummets around the age of 13.

The biggest message that has never sunk into the psyche of Australian sporting parents, Trickett notes, is that parents don’t need to give their child any feedback when it comes to performance — positive or negative.

So, take this time to ask, what do you say on the car ride home?

The correct answer is: “Geez, I love watching you play out there.”

Originally published as Question for 8yo daughter sickens Aussie swimming icon Libby Trickett