Health and fitness influencer Rachael Finch has hit back at critics after posting video of her daughter competing in a school cross-country race.
The footage shows the 35-year-old former Miss Universe Australia winner running behind her daughter Violet, 8, yelling words of encouragement at her.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Rachael Finch hits back after video of her daughter’s cross-country run.
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In the video, captioned “Crazy cam,” a breathless-sounding Finch can be heard shouting at her daughter: “OK, here we go! It’s the second down hill. Suck in the air, suck in the air! Go go GO! Watch the rocks! That’s it Violet, well done!”
The footage unnerved podcasters Amy, Kate and Sophie Taeuber, who dissected the video on their Outspoken podcast earlier this week.
“I first saw people talking about this online before seeing the video, and at first I was like, ‘Oh, she’s probably just one of those supportive parents’,” one of the sisters said.
“But this was the next level.”
“I don’t understand how this school let her run behind her child during the race,” said another.
“Surely it would have been really off-putting for the other kids?”
Violet placed 12th out of 100 runners, one sister noted, meaning there would have been plenty of other kids running behind her.
“Can you imagine the other mums seeing this?” she said.
“(They would wonder), ‘Why the hell is she allowed at the school on the course?’
“I would be pretty p***** off if I was a parent at this school.
“(They would be thinking) I’m very excited for my child to be competing in this race, but I’m thinking, ‘Well, no wonder my child didn’t do so well when they’ve got the advantage of having their mum there breathing down their neck, telling them to keep going’.”
The sisters said Finch’s behaviour “seemed a bit odd” and there appeared to be a lot of pressure on Violet to do well.
“It seems like (Finch is) living vicariously through her child because this seemed to be one of her dreams,” one of the sisters said.
Another said it was “very difficult to watch”.
Now, Finch has hit back, posting a video responding to her critics and saying she was simply “motivating her child to do her best”.
Sitting in a car, Finch directly addressed the camera as she responded to criticism of the video.
“Just a quick message to anyone else wanting to criticise or personally attack me for wanting to support, encourage and motivate my child to do the very best that she can do,” she began.
“Couple of things.
“One, check your facts.
“Two, check back in eight or so years when Violet is an adult, to see the progress!”
She then gave the camera a big thumbs up before the video ended.
On their official Outspoken Instagram page, the Taeuber sisters asked their followers: “Was Rachael Finch just being a supportive parent, or did she take things too far?”
But there are no longer any comments on the post, with a message reading: “Comments on this post have been limited.”
It’s not the first time Finch has come under fire for aspects of her parenting.
She has a huge following on social media, where she shares her fitness habits and how she prepares healthy foods for her children to eat.
Apart from daughter Violet, Finch and her husband, dancer Michael Miziner, also have a son Dominic, who is five.
In April Finch was forced to hit back after one follower accused her of “underfeeding” her children.
While most of her 321,000 Instagram followers love the healthy eating example she sets for her kids, some have dubbed her an “almond” mum — a name given to parents who supposedly “push” their own strict nutritional standards onto their children.
The comments came after Finch showed her followers how to make a “naked burger” using lettuce cups instead of bread rolls.
“Someone officially labelled me an ‘almond mum’ this week,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
“Definition according to Google: ‘A parent who follows incredibly strict or dangerously unhealthy eating habits and attempts to force them on their children’.
“While it’s downright nasty, it’s also absurdly hilarious.
“I’ve become a pro at emotionally responding to these comments now.
“I’ve had a giggle with a lot of you (about this).
“Comment, what type of food mum you would be?”
Several of Finch’s followers said they thought “almond mum” was an unfair description of what she fed her children.
“I wish my kids happily ate what yours do!” one follower commented.
“Such an inspiration to a healthy lifestyle and teaching your children wonderful habits.”
“Oh lovely, I am glad you are finding amusement in this as it is absolutely ridiculous that you are made out to be anything other than a beautiful mum,” wrote another.
“You are such an inspiration and your kids are very lucky.”
“Well I must have been an almond mother for 25 years,” added a third.
“I didn’t realise that feeding children healthy food was dangerous.”
