- Actress Alicia Silverstone has been making headlines for years due to her holistic parenting techniques.
- Social media has strong opinions about how she should parent.
- Are the critiques from social media warranted, and if so, can they help her to become a better parent?
Alicia Silverstone, of “Clueless” fame, is a weird mom.
Her unconventional parenting methods have been making headlines since her son, Bear, was born in 2011. First, the discourse was “Bear? What kind of name is Bear?” Well, that conversation is not too out of the norm for the current celebrity zeitgeist. Famous people name their kids weird things all of the time. The public makes jokes about it for a couple of weeks, and then it’s done.
Then, the discourse eventually shifted when Alicia started exhibiting weird parenting techniques.
Alicia Silverstone Raises Her Child “Naturally”
In 2012, Alicia uploaded a video of her chewing food and then…distributing that food to her baby’s mouth. Like a bird. Okay, so that’s a little freaky. Turns out, feeding your child pre-chewed food is “natural,” according to Alicia.
I can understand that it would make some people feel uncomfortable, possibly, because it’s new to them. But I do want to let you know that this has been going on for thousands of years — still going on all over the place — and it’s natural.
Alicia continued to cause controversy when she elaborated about her holistic approach to parenting with her book “The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning.”
In this book, she details her son’s vegan diet and her anti-vaccination position. The anti-vax stance is dangerous to be sure, and I can understand why someone would feel it’s worthy of criticism. Is that what she’s being criticized for, though?
No. She’s a bad parent because her child is vegan, has long hair, and imperfect teeth.
Being Natural Isn’t Natural!
Her latest mom crime? She recently revealed that she bathes with her 9-year-old son.
Her parenting technique is certainly foreign to me, and it’s not quite something I personally would want to emulate when I have children.
That said, aside from the vaccination debacle, is she really doing anything to hurt her child? Is anything she is doing worth literally calling social services? (People threaten this all the time in her comment section.)
Shaming is Pointless
Evidence shows that “mom shaming” – which has taken off as a social media phenomenon where this influencer tells that influencer that she’s a bad parent – is ineffective.
A study conducted by the mobile app mom.life found that 80 percent of mothers surveyed have been shamed for their parenting skills. Another significant finding of the study? Less than 0.5 percent actually changed their parenting style. So, even if you comment with the most genuine of intentions – you’re not actually helping.
When I scroll through Alicia’s Instagram feed, I see a happy kid with his kooky mom. I don’t see anyone in danger. I don’t see any abuse. Of course, if that behavior was displayed, then criticism is absolutely warranted. But that’s not what Alicia’s showing. And sometimes, I wonder if Instagram moms are genuinely concerned or just like feeling superior.
But what kind of mother would do that? What kind of mother would get off on making a fellow mother and her innocent child feel bad?
For shame.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
This article was edited by Samburaj Das.
