'It's a question I have asked myself often.' Sia reflects on putting a child in spotlight.

Notoriously private Australian singer Sia has dealt with her rise to fame in an unusual way: she hardly ever shows her face.

Despite hundreds of concerts, red carpets, TV appearances and photo shoots, 41-year-old prefers to keep outside of the spotlight.

Instead, Sia often uses young dancer Maddie Ziegler, originally of Dance Moms fame, as a sort of “fame surrogate”. Ziegler’s connection with Sia first started with the music video for the 2014 song Chandelier.

Maddie accompanies Sia to public appearances, dances in her shows and stars in her music videos, all in full view of the world. She has none of the anonymity that Sia’s chosen for herself – and she’s only 15 years old.

It’s a situation that some say smells like hypocrisy – and this week, Sia has taken to Twitter to address some of the concerns about protecting her own privacy at a teenager’s expense.

Responding to an article in The Guardian titled “The Sia Conundrum: If fame is so damaging, why pass it on to a child?”, Sia wrote a series of tweets explaining her decision.

This article poses a question I have asked myself often. I do check in with Maddie weekly about whether she wants this, and assure her if she ever wants it to stop it stops. It’s a conversation we should all be having. Not just myself but all directors, stage parents and agents.

— sia (@Sia) December 6, 2017

With their children, clients, charges. Maddie was already famous when I discovered her, but I have certainly expanded her exposure and feel responsible for that. I feel very protective of her and my goal is to empower her in whatever choices she makes. Some would argue a teenager

— sia (@Sia) December 6, 2017

Can’t or shouldn’t be charged with making sound choices for themselves and so I do try to choose the best for her always. But I think this is an important conversation https://t.co/0k6bQ8EsvT

— sia (@Sia) December 6, 2017

What I learned from Maddie is that fame affects her differently than how it affected me. I can only trust that she is telling me the truth. If that changes, we stop.

— sia (@Sia) December 6, 2017

Importantly, the star doesn’t shy away from the criticism, acknowledging that this is “a conversation we should all be having”.

“I do try to choose the best for her always,” she added.

“What I learnt from Maddie is that fame affects her differently than how it affected me. I can only trust that she is telling me the truth. If that changes, we stop.”

Listen: The dangers of sharing too much about your kids on the Internet.