Alicia Silverstone has always felt she was meant to be a mother.
While acting in a Broadway play Time stands still In 2010, she told PEOPLE that she couldn’t wait to get pregnant.
“I’ve wanted to have a child since I was 2 — I was meant to be a mother,” she said The New York Times bestseller author.
The following year, her wish came true: in May 2011, she and her then-husband Christopher Jarecki had a son, Bear.
Silverstone and Jarecki divorced in 2018 after 13 years of marriage, but the couple remained friendly co-parents.
“Bear, his dad and I get along very well,” she said TODAY Parents 2020. “We ask Bear where he wants to be. But then I started to wonder if that was too much pressure. So I contacted him and he said: ‘I like that I decide.’ We both have different perks!”
Although she always wanted more children, the actress said that the divorce was part of the reason why she only had one child.
“I wanted to have more [kids]but then my relationship messed up and it wasn’t a good time to introduce one,” she shared on The Ellen Fisher Podcast in 2022. “I didn’t want to have one right away because I was very much in love with my Meda.”
She continued: “I wanted to squeeze every little moment out of him, so it wasn’t until he was 3 that I was ready to have another child, and then I didn’t have a partner, so that’s why I don’t have four babies.”
From her alternative parenting methods to his big 2020 style change, here’s everything you need to know about Alicia Silverstone’s son.
Bear was born in May 2011
Bear Jarecki.
Alicia Silverstone on Instagram
Babysitter’s Club alum and Jarecki welcomed Bear Blu Jarecki on May 5, 2011. He weighed 7 lbs., 15 oz., her rep told PEOPLE exclusively at the time.
Silverstone blogged about his arrival on her website, writing: “All three of us are in love! I am so grateful to this community for all the love, support, well wishes and happy vibes you sent me throughout my pregnancy…it was wonderful. Thanks everyone!”
Silverstone fed the mother birds while raising Bear
Alicia Silverstone and her son, Bear Jarecki in Alaska.
Alicia Silverstone on Instagram
Silverstone is known for her unconventional child-rearing techniques, many of which have gone viral over the years. In 2012, she posted a video on her website of her “bird feeding” Bear, meaning she chewed his food beforehand and fed him mouth to mouth.
“It’s his favorite… and mine. He literally crawls around the room to attack my mouth if I eat,” she said in the video.
Despite the backlash she received after announcing the “technique,” the animal rights activist defended her decision.
“I can understand that some people would feel uncomfortable with that, probably because it’s new to them,” Silverstone said Party tonight 2012. “But I want to inform you that this has been happening for thousands of years – still everywhere – and it’s natural.”
He and Silverstone eat a vegan diet
Bear Jarecki.
Alicia Silverstone on Instagram
It’s known that American woman the actress follows a vegan lifestyle. She made the change when she turned 21 and passed on her values to her son.
“[Bear] he loves the food I give him,” she told PEOPLE in 2014. “He is not deprived of anything. Having amazing fruit is like candy for him!”
She credits veganism with keeping her son healthy and teaching him about his body’s needs. In 2018, she said Page six she never had to give her son medicine.
“He’s never had to take medication in his life,” Silverstone said. “He can get sniffles and a runny nose, but he’s not sad, he’s still going to school. Twice in his life he said, ‘Mom, I’m not feeling well,’ and it was only for a few hours and he came back around.”
Silverstone has a unique approach to discipline
Alicia Silverstone and her son, Bear Jarecki.
Alicia Silverstone on Instagram
When it comes to discipline, Vampires the star believes in open communication, not consequences.
“Because of the healthy lifestyle that we lead, he didn’t go through the terrible twos and the terrible threes. There really wasn’t much,” Silverstone told PEOPLE in 2020. “When you really meet their needs, and you really understand what they want and need… none of I didn’t find that.”
She doesn’t claim that her son is perfect, but when they have conflicts, they resolve them together.
“There [have been] moments where there were things we had to redirect and correct, of course, but it just wasn’t the struggle you hear about. … The most I can say is, ‘No thanks, Bear,’ she said. ‘And he said, ‘Okay.’ … That’s my rebuke.”
“And he got it. Because he respects me and I respect him,” added Silverstone.
Sleeping with Silverstone
Bear Jarecki.
Alicia Silverstone on Instagram
In 2022, Silverstone shared further The Ellen Fisher Podcast that she and her then 11-year-old son Bear still shared the same bed.
“Bear and I still sleep together,” she said and added that she “follows nature” with this method.
“If you’ve been in any wild environment where there are animals… if you put your baby in there, your baby will be eaten,” she said, pointing to herself. “It’s not ideal for the baby to be there.”
Silverstone looks beyond criticism of her unique parenting style
Christopher Jarecki and Alicia Silverstone with their son, Bear Jarecki.
Alicia Silverstone on Instagram
Regardless of the criticism she faces for the way she is raising her child, Silverstone has not wavered in her beliefs.
When asked in the interview for 2018 The Red Book if negative feedback breaks her confidence in her methods, Clless the star said, “Not a bit.”
“Because my experience was women on the street who would say, ‘Your book changed my life,'” she said. “I feel very passionate and satisfied with every choice I’ve made as a mom and as an activist. Anyone who has problems with it can have them; it doesn’t affect me.”
She doubled this Ellen Fisher Podcast, explaining that she focused on raising a child with love.
“I’m a natural mom and I’m a loving mother, and I believe in love and I believe in nature, and our society is afraid of nature and love,” she said.
He got a big haircut in 2020
Bear Jarecki.
Alicia Silverstone on Instagram
In 2020, Bear made a drastic change in his appearance when he cut his long locks. His hair was waist-length then.
“He buzzed. He took it off,” Silverstone said Access to Hollywood she saved the cut strands before the discovery.
While Bear may be happy with his new look, his mom had a harder time dealing with the “big growing up moment.”
“I didn’t understand how, when they take off their hair, how much it changes [them]”, said the actress. “She looks like a child instead of my baby.”
But in the end, she is satisfied with the decision, adding that he was “sweet” regardless of everything.
“These are things that are hard to adjust to, but they are wonderful,” she said. “It’s so nice that they’re making their own decisions and growing and coming into their own, isn’t it? It’s pretty amazing.”
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Source: HIS Education