Alicia Silverstone has a very… enmeshed relationship with her son Bear, nine. We first learned about that when she posted a video where she was chewing up Bear’s food for him when he was a toddler. Alicia presented that like it was this enlightened thing that other cultures did and that we could learn from her. That’s her whole vibe when it comes to parenting and lifestyle, and she’s never let up from that. Alicia often brags about her son’s vegan diet and attributes it to his general good health and calm nature. In 2018 she said Bear has “never had to take medicine in his life” and that he’s only been sick twice. Ok. Then, in June of this year, she said Bear is super calm and easy to parent because of their veganism. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight last week, Alicia said that Bear has never needed antibiotics because he has a plant-based diet, basically. I watched the whole interview, it’s on YouTube, and she comes across like such a smug a-hole. Here’s what she said about her son and about plastic surgery. I’m excerpting from ET Online below and am including some additional quotes from the YouTube video.
On Bear never needed antibiotics because he’s vegan
“He’s such an example of health. This is a child who is plant based,” the Clueless actress said of her son. “… To never have needed antibiotics in nine years and to never have needed any kind of medical intervention… Most kids have so many ear infections, they’re taking medicine all the time. I’m not saying I wouldn’t give it to him… I’m saying he doesn’t need it.”“This is a kid who’s been [sick] twice in his life. Twice. For, like, a few hours. He said, ‘Mommy I don’t feel good. I’m going to lay down. In his whole life, twice. He can get a snot nose, but he’s still climbing trees,” Silverstone continued. “He’s just so healthy. I just want to share that with the world. So people can see that a plant-based baby is really healthy… It’s not like they’re just doing OK. They can do better.”
She claims she puts Bear on Instagram because of the paparazzi
On top of proudly showing off her son’s health, Silverstone has other reasons for posting about her only child on social media, something she does often, while, at the same time, keeping him “far away” from comments on her posts.“The reason I put Bear on social media at all is, one, because obviously I’m a very proud mother. My friends put their kids on their social media because they are proud mothers too,” she said. “But also because it keeps it less interesting for paparazzi to harass us… When Bear was born… people were camped outside the house for days and days. Six weeks they camped outside our house… The moment I released an image they all went away.”
On plastic surgery
“I’m not going to do any work, I’m just going to continue to be natural and we’ll see. Maybe I’ll be an example of what actually aging healthily looks look. I don’t want to put in my body, I want to naturally age. I don’t know who else is doing that, but it seems like a small tiny [percent] in our industry. If there’s anyone else out there if there is it would be to… see what that looks like. On film I would like to represent humans. Most people out there are not doing that.”
I don’t care if women get plastic surgery or if they don’t, but it’s a personal choice. Alicia sounds so incredibly judgy about it. “On film I would like to represent humans. I’ll be an example of what actually aging healthily looks look.” As for what she said about her son, at least she claims she would give him antibiotics if he needed them. I highly doubt he’s vaccinated and I doubt she’ll get him vaccinated against coronavirus either. Now is not the time to brag about kids never getting sick or needing medical treatment, but she’s so up her own butt I doubt she cares.
Alicia’s son recently cut his hair, which is cool and it was his decision. My son used to have long hair like that because he wanted to and then he decided to cut it short.
She really annoys me.
Well let me put it this way, considering the new variant of COVID-19 that is currently befallen us in the UK with initial figures are showing that it is affecting mainly young people at the moment, let’s hope their plant based diet protects better than the vaccine (sarcasm). This new strain is approx. 70% more infectious than the current one. It’s also showing up in Denmark, Italy and Belgium.
It’s important to vaccinate as that is how we get herd immunity but am sure the anti-vaxxers will be out in force shrieking about the cases of anaphylaxis as the reason not to take it. From what i understand people who have the kind of allergies where you carry an epi-pen around are at higher risk of developing a reaction to any vaccine or drug. But maybe I misunderstand.
I’m a healthcare worker, so I got my first Pfizer jab on Friday. Apparently there have been only a handful of people with anaphylactic reactions (about 4 people, to my knowledge), but just to be safe you’re asked to stick around 15-30 mins after the injection so they can treat an anaphylactic reaction in the clinic just in case.
Exactly. And those who’ve had that reaction? All fine after they were taken care of in the hospital. Now, they are probably not going to get the second stick, but who knows, maybe the first can jumpstart their immune systems enough to help protect them. Bottom line, even if you have severe reactions, epi pens seem to be keeping you safe, and the CDC says to take it anyway.
And luckily, I’ve been reading that, although this strain is incredibly prolific in its ability to infect, the vaccine is still effective against it (a problematic mutation rendering the current vaccines useless is likely a year away, and if we’re all vaccinated against it by then, it wouldn’t have had enough hosts in which to live and mutate–although we might have to start looking at vaccinating certain animals unless we’re going to euthanize them all, which, I think, is pretty rotten). And I also read that virus mutations that are beneficial to the virus are ones that stop killing the hosts as much, since a virus wants proliferation, not to be stopped dead in its tracks.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/cdc-says-people-with-history-of-severe-allergic-reactions-can-get-covid-19-vaccine
So, let’s talk about culture and illness. When it comes to illness, our culture often encourages us to blame, either explicitly or implicitly as Alicia Silverstone does. Not a day goes by without some health headline or other trumpeting advice. Eat more cruciferous vegetables! Move your body X minutes a day! Unplug and unwind!
Unfortunately, many infer that the sick person didn’t eat enough broccoli, walk enough miles, destress, or detox. It’s the sick person’s fault. The sick person is sick because they deserve to be. We’re all in total control if only we’d do the work.
Tell that to the 5 year-old undergoing chemo or the adult with ulcerative colitis. Tell that to those who didn’t win the genetic lottery. We don’t always get what we deserve. We aren’t in total control.
Puffing yourself up because you have resources, good genes, and good luck is gross.
@tom, agree with you here. My first two kids were pretty typical with illness. They didn’t need anti-biotics that often, but when they did, I was happy to have access to healthcare and medicine. My third kid has always been super healthy. He’s six now, and been sick just once or twice. He’s never taken antibiotics. We don’t have an amazing diet or magic trick for his health. Did we do anything wrong with our first two? No. Did we do everything right with our third? Again, no. It’s all just how the genes sorted out.
Tom, totally agree. Talk about confounding variables.
@Tom- Agreed! I think people miss that victim blaming is a defense against the fear & lack of control one has over said victimization (see any). Rather than realizing that something could happen to them as well, they look for ways to control the event, what the victim did & then they feel they can avoid said issue. It makes sense that humans do this, but it’s not helpful & people end up blaming, othering & judging victims, making their lives worse, all in effort to avoid feeling the fear & loss of control that “yes, this could happen to you &, no, you are not better than the victim”. Sit with discomfort & empathy instead…it’s not a knee jerk reaction for most of us, but way better than some parent with a child who has had the unlucky misfortune to have been ill their whole lives reading this crap.
I really appreciate the take on victim blaming regarding health issues. Both my parents are dealing with chronic health issues at the moment. It is stressful at the best of times, in the middle of a pandemic it’s a crushing weight. Neither of them have done anything wrong. They follow their doctor’s advice, they eat very healthy, dont drink, stay hydrated…..then I look at people like my husband’s parents, aunts and uncles who eat garbage, drink like fishes, smoke cigarettes and I wonder what people like that did to “deserve” good health. Some people will do everything right and still get cancer while some people will do everything wrong and live to 100. Having money like Alicia definitely insulates people from a lot of potential problems, but at the end of the day so much of it comes down to luck and nothing else.
I got the flu shot for the first time this year. Since it was my first time they (pharmacist) asked that I stay around for 10 – 15 minutes afterwards. So, to me, I would hope they did/do the same thing with the covid shot.
Really great post, Tom. So many good points!
It always amazes me the number of people who follow the advice of the Alicias of this world, but completely disregard the advice of immunologists, epidemiologists and other experts. Just as I said to my son’s ex partner, who refuses to vaccinate their 3-year-old: So you’re totally opposed to vaccinating him with the wealth of knowledge, experience and history of vaccinations, in a controlled environment with the right people on hand in case he has a bad reaction (which can happen), but you’re totally fine going to a gig or festival and buying a couple of pills from a random stranger with a pocketful of whatevers, to put in your body to enhance your musical experience?
We in Sydney have been pretty much shut out of our other states because of a serious outbreak cluster in the northern beaches. Apparently, they’ve traced it back to a strain in America, just like a previous case about a month ago. This bloody virus has dug its heels in, mutating and spreading more easily than the first strain. Like Digital Unicorn, the figure quoted here re easier and faster spreading is also 70%. I’m wondering if the vaccine will be
as effective against these new strains of the virus? I can’t imagine that the scientists haven’t also considered this. As it is, we just need to use whatever we have available right now: physical distancing, frequent hand washing, masking up, keeping surfaces clean, getting tested, staying away from people if you’re even slightly unwell. We can do every one of these things, amd they cost very little. Stay safe and healthy, everyone.
Stay safe to you all too!
From what I’ve been reading the experts have been saying that while this new strain in the UK spreads and infects faster there is evidence that because its a mutation it has weakened the virus protein meanings its ability to attach itself to cells is also weaker. They have also said that the vaccine will work and if not due to the mRNA tech they have used ‘reprogramming’ the vaccine to work on the new strain can be done.
Apparently the more a virus mutates the weaker it becomes. It was a rabbit hole i went down.
From what I’ve read, COVID vaccination will become like the flu vaccination— because of mutations in the virus, we will have to get vaccines for it every year to stay safe. The 1918 flu never went away. It is still with us, it just mutates from year to year and vaccine makers have to keep up with it.
Lovely. COVID was already affecting young people more than we thought – the last study examining increases in average deaths showed losses in the 0-40 age groups that strongly suggests we’re missing COVID deaths in those demographics either due to lack of testing or detection. Guess we like to learn things the hard way.
Here’s the study by the way: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201117133908.htm
Its not even deaths. There are 2 professional footballers ( so young and superfit) currently suffering from Long Covid who, according to their manager can barely walk and have persistent mouth sores months after contracting Covid.
All the anti vaxxers are relying on other parents vaccinating to protect their children. Thats whats the most irritating. They need other people to vaccinate their children and make the decision to vaccinate despite all their pseudo science nonsense to protect their children when they are not prepared to do so themselves.
Herd immunity didnt work for hundreds of years until the Smallpox vaccine or the Polio vaccine. Why would it work in a few months for Covid 19?
I’m gonna keep eating plant-based AND get the vaccine. I don’t have perfect health, but this way of eating has allowed me to avoid some chronic health conditions other members of my have. I feel really lucky to have learned about it as a young person (even tho’ I probably ate way too many processed foods for my own good back then).
This is such a shitty, tone deaf thing to brag about in the midst of a pandemic.
Like ma’am, shut all the way the hell up and be grateful for your healthy child instead of a self involved hosebeast who thinks you have any real control over anyone’s health.
If this was a meat eater showing her pride about her kid eating “everything”, chicken, fish, mussels, octopus, all veg, would everyone be upset as they are about a vegan? I don’t think so…
If the meat eater said that’s why her kid never got sick, yeah. 5 year olds have died from Covid. Imagine being that parent. And reading this absolute crock.
It’s not that she’s a vegan, it’s that she’s being a smug a-hole.
I would judge anyone who predicated their child’s good health on their parenting decisions.
What exactly did a mother of a pediatric cancer patient fail to do right?
Yes to all these answers. I have one kid who rarely gets sick and is a picky eater and I have one kid who is more prone to catching viruses and is a good eater. There is so much about genetics and the human body we still don’t understand, to ascribe health to any one factor (especially one within our control) is idiotic. I get she is a fervent believer in plant-based diets and she is probably defensive of critics who want to claim she is malnourishing her son, but the way she goes on about his health every chance she gets is overboard. There’s a difference between “we eat plant based and my son is strong and healthy, thank goodness” and “we eat plant based and my son is healthier, kinder and overall better than all other kids out there because of it.”
Vegans want to be oppressed so bad. Case and point.
Thank you 👏
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
My oldest friend is a vegan and she would never say something so vapid and clearly wrong. I ate meat as a kid and rarely ever got sick. I just got lucky. I was also vaccinated. You can live the “healthiest” lifestyle possible and still get struck with a sudden illness. Implying that health and morality are linked is offensive and damaging.
My sibs & I all had measles, mumps, and chickpox, picked up from somebody at school then shared with each other. We didn’t get those diseases because we were meat eaters, but because vaccines for those diseases hadn’t been invented yet. Alicia’s lucky her kid has been around vaccinated children.
I’m definitely not hating on parents with only one child because only children are still a lot of work, and when I was the mom of only one child, I still was just as much a mom as someone with multiple children.
HOWEVER. . .
When you have only one child, it’s very easy to attribute their good qualities to your good parenting. I used to do it all the time. “My child is calm because of my parenting. My child is so healthy because of my parenting.” Then, I had two more kids who were completely different than the first, and I realized that most of the traits I took credit for in my first were actually just how he was on his own.
All this to say, her kid might never get sick, be super smart and calm because he was always going to be that way, and she shouldn’t be so smug. 🤷🏻♀️
So agree. It is easy to take one example and extrapolate but that doesn’t make it correct. As I’m reading this I’m thinking of other countries where people eat far less meat or a fully plant based diet. Unfortunately some of those children get sick.
Also co-sign on feeling less responsible for good behavior when you have another child. We have three boys and they all have different personalities and issues.
That’s a really good point – we’re planning to do just one kid, and I think it’s fair to say *generally* just one is easier than multiple. Still, I never thought that not having a second child around with totally different behaviors and personality could end up making you think you’re a parenting genius. Good to know!
This I 100% agree on. One kid? Easy to have a well behaved, gentle kid! Wait till she has three! If there is anything tone deaf about her article, it is purely this ONE thing, that she has NO clue what its like to have more than one child that she can easily lavish all her attention on without it being divided 🙂
I’m not a parent, but as a friend and aunt many times over, I have seen this scenario play out again and again. First-borns who are “easy” babies and toddlers have their parents attributing their demeanors to the way they’re raising the kids…and then a second kid comes along and blows the roof off that smug little theory.
Nurture counts for a lot but we are all born with temperaments and proclivities. It’s nice to think that your choices clearly align with outcomes but, boy, is that ever not consistently the case.
Good point – I said that to friends the other day who are expecting their second, they asked how much harder it was etc, and I said “you realize with the second how much of the first child’s behavior/personality is due to your parenting and how much is just how they are.”
100% this. My first was not a cuddly or friendly or easy baby and he rolled right into need some extra services, so it was crushing (at the time) to hear people smug bragging about how their amazing parenting was responsible for their easy kids. The bragging stops when they bump against their first real challenging phase.
(I finally got an easy one with my third; my husband and I could not stop marveling at how much easier it was and thought, “no wonder people think they have parenting aced!”)
My first was colicky, miserable and the absolute best case scenario was two hours of sleep at a time, which was rare. The smug parents were the worst, and believe me I encountered more than a few that implied I must be doing something wrong. Then in less than two years I had another. Didn’t do anything differently except have less time for number two and lo and behold he was happy, he was calm, he slept, he didn’t need to be carried all the time. And fyi several of those “perfect” parents had seconds who turned out to be hellions.
Having one kid who is healthy and calm doesn’t mean sweet fa.
I came here to say this exact thing and I’m glad I’m not the only one. Having one kid right now would be like a vacation for me. When everyone is in bed and we only have the little one up for an hour or so it’s like heaven because I can focus on her 100%.
She also basically said that if you put your baby in a crib in another room that’s child neglect. She co slept and said that and I’m sure she’s still doing it. Ever since then I’ve pretty much canceled her.
Came here to say this. My kids were two years apart. Both delivered the same way, in the same hospital, same doctor. Both breastfed. Same foods, same day care, same environments. One kid was super calm but had more ear infections and took eight years to be fully potty trained (some normal physiological issues.) The other had (has) anxiety, but was potty trained by 2, never had an accident and never got an ear infection or anything between the ages of 4 and 15 (when we think she got Covid last winter – she’s that healthy that a random high fever/ illness in January was VERY noteworthy.) Alicia is not a parenting expert. She’s had one child and she’s tremendously lucky that she has the privilege to nurture him in a way that she enjoys and make the choices she deems best AND that those choices seemingly worked for her ONE child.
This is the very definition of privilege AND anecdata. Alicia, sit down.
@Ashley I never thought of it that way and it’s such a good point!!
I’m an only child, but my parents were never the type to brag about anything, so. But it’s interesting to think about.
My spawn have rarely gotten sick in their 19 years. Neither of them ever missed a day of school for illness. They are not “plant based.” I mean, unless your kid is Groot, he is not literally plant based anyway. And I laughed my ass off at “the Clueless actress.” Yup, sounds about right.
I laughed at that too! “Clueless actress” hehe. And girl, you are LUCKY. Your kids have sturdy immune systems. I am one of those people who never got a single childhood disease and somehow I was the only one of the three of us (I have two siblings) who was immune sturdy. Its just genetics, sometimes. My Dad who is 75 also has never had a single childhood disease (like you know, chicken pox, measles etc)
I rarely get sick either. It’s kind of freaky the way our immune systems work. But a good immune system is not guaranteed to protect you against things like COVID-19, which is a novel virus. You bet I am still taking that vaccine when it becomes available to me (physician in private practice). I can wait, since I am currently doing psychiatric work through telemed. Let those in regular contact with COVID patients get it first.
I LOL’d at “Clueless actress” too. I mean, it is what she’s best known for so it makes sense, but it’s still funny.
I used to love her back in the 90’s and I really, really want to like her, but she makes it too difficult with nonsense like this. It’s so tone deaf and just plain wrong. I wonder how she would react if the child of a close friend of hers was diagnosed with cancer or something equally awful.
Saying your child is plant based makes it sound like they get their energy from chlorophyll and the Krebs cycle. Isn’t she the one who wrote to Putin asking for prisoners to be given vegan meals? I bet he got right on it.
I laughed so hard at this 😂😂😂
All this mummy bragging is so annoying, I’d prefer she just said that he’s been lucky so far and he doesn’t get sick often. Health is complicated, there are way more factors contributing to it. My daughter was very healthy for the first 1,5y, then she went to nursey and started getting infections from other kids. Then 8 months at home due to covid – not even a runny nose during this time. Went back to kindergarden – sick again. Sooo, my guess is he is homeschooled or goes to small school. This is how our immune system works – it “trains” on patogens, if there are none new wiruses, there are usually no infections. And for serious diseases – just be grateful your child is ok. It’s like with breastfeeding, it did it and my girl didn’t get sick often during this time. My best friend – breastfed both kids over 2 years each – one infection after another. But you hear mothers bragging all the time that their children are healthy because they breastfeed, implying if your child gets sick it’s obviously your fault because you are not.
Honestly? Just know that the best way to look at it is to be happy for those parents, coz anything other than that comes off as being angry you didn’t have their luck…whats the point being unhappy about your life? Just be glad she has such good fortune and be glad your kids are alive and thriving despite the odds. 🙂
I am happy for everyone with healthy kids, believe me and I am not unhappy about my life either. I have a child, children get sick, to me it’s completely normal part of life. I’m very glad that mild infections is all I’m dealing with. What I don’t like is being lucky and presenting it to the world as “I do this and THAT’s why we have no problems”. I had some difficult times during my motherhood and those type of comments were putting me down very much. That’s why I’d wish anyone would avoid being braggy or judgemental because I know, not only on my example but my friends too, how upsetting it can be to parents who are trying hard and it’s still now all rosy for them. It’s not a matter of being angry or jealous.
I don’t think she came off as angry she didn’t have their luck. She’s saying more people should just recognize their luck instead of claiming their fortune is due to something they did and implicitly or explicitly shaming others who did it differently or didn’t have the same outcome. She said she and her friend both breastfed and her daughter was pretty healthy but her friend’s kid was often sick – so to have ascribed her daughter’s health to her choice to breastfeed would have been wrong, but so many people do that with every parenting choice and it’s annoying and inconsiderate to those who don’t have the same outcome.
What bothers me is that she is using this child to congratulate herself. Everything about him boils down to some reflection on her parenting. It feels very much like the kid is just a tool for her own self-aggrandizement. I always feel a little queasy when she talks about him for that reason.
If he’s only 9 he could still get sick once he’s older and exposed to more people. My kids were never sick when they were little but one of my sons was hospitalized with severe pneumonia in 8th grade. My other son started get strep constantly in high school. So yeah, kids can be basically really healthy until they’re not and it really has nothing to do with diet or lifestyle. Or parenting. (Although right now I judge parents hard who are letting their kids go to parties and other events like there’s no pandemic. But that’s a whole other thread, lol.)
He is probably home-schooled or only around an elite group of peers and not in a general public school where desperate parents send sick children to school so they can work. So, yeah, I’m sure the lack of exposure to various things helps.
Exactly. If he isn’t homeschooled and is in a classroom with other kids for most of the year, I simply do not believe her that he’s never gotten sick. Elementary schools are basically Petri dishes. You can take all the precautions you want at home but your child is still going to pick up germs at school and bring them home. What an odd thing for her to brag about.
Exactly! No one in my house has been sick since March! Surely it’s because of all the meat and dairy we consume and not that we’re working/schooling from home!
I think the Doritoes are keeping us all healthy.
I never had antibiotics until I was 15 and an ovarian cyst ruptured. Didn’t need one again until over a decade later and I was working in a sick building, which is when I got my first ear infection. Only medical treatment, aside from physicals I needed by age 9, aside from school physicals and vaccines, was when I cut my lip doing gymnastics on a slide at age three and needed stitches and when I fell on ice and cut my chin at age six and needed more stitches. None of my siblings were any different. Bear’s just a normal kid.
If only you had been “plant based” you never woulda got that cyst.
Seriously. If a lion ate that child, would the lion now be like, “I’m a vegan.”
A lot of it is just pure luck, imo. I was a normal kid, went for checkups every year, ate meat, and I happened to not break any bones, but ended up with a few cavities even though my parents regularly took me to the dentist. I had childhood friends with constant ear infections or broken bones and their parents weren’t doing anything different or “wrong.” It’s really just random luck imo.
So much of it is genetic. Alicia is seriously giving herself far too much credit here.
My brother & I are 16 months apart. Same genetic material, same family upbringing, same diet, same everything. Yet he has never had a cavity in his life while every fillable tooth in my head is filled. Some things just happen.
Another woodiot.
Growing up I don’t remember being sick except for having the mumps (prevaccine days). My diet was a typical meat, veggie and potatoes. I’m still very healthy. I contribute it to genetics as I never remember my parents ever being sick either. Diet does play into health. I think people today eat more processed foods than I did growing up.
We absolutely eat more processed foods, leading to the obesity epidemic (in America, anyway), and overall poorer health.
I am not a vegan or even a vegetarian, but I’ve had enough friends who are to hear all the criticism they get if they raise their kids vegetarian, and some feed their kids meat because they assume it’s healthier for kids. I have to imagine that Alicia Silverstein has heard it all. I can’t help but wonder if she talks so much about how healthy her son is as a defense mechanism, at least a little bit.
I mean…there are entire countries that are predominantly vegetarian, and their people grow up tall, some with maladies, some without. No shame in being a vegetarian, meat (especially not American-slaughtered meat) is not healthier, given the antibiotics, steroids, etc., that they’re given, and the “food” they’re fed. Vegetarians can get every nutrient that meat provides from other plant-based sources. It just takes a little more effort. The biggest problems Americans have is we eat too much overall.
I wasn’t saying that it is healthier, just that whenever a vegetarian friend has a kid I start hearing rumbling about how unhealthy it is for young children. Again, I’m not saying they’re right, just that a lot of people have strong opinions about how anybody who does something different than them is wrong. And I’m sure that I hear about it much less than the actual parents.
@sa I wasn’t disagreeing with you. Just adding on, wondering why parents raising their kids vegetarian would feel in any way insecure. Hence, the fact that other countries are predominantly vegetarian and doing fine, healthwise.
Got it.
Also, I just noticed that I totally screwed up her name and it’s too late to edit the comment to fix it. It would make more sense if it was a celebrity whose name I wasn’t sure of, but I know her name. I guess it’s going to be one of those days…
I’ve always thought that if you’re actually secure about your own parenting decisions, you don’t need to explain or defend them to anyone. She’s a wealthy, independent woman. Surely she’s old enough now and secure enough to just enjoy being a mom. She’s just super self-involved in my mind and her need to constantly justify her actions comes across as insecure to me. She’s got a great life and a kid she’s crazy about – she should enjoy it and stop pretending that kids who get sick do so because their parents make bad decisions. It’s false and it’s sh*tty.
Ashley, you are absolutely right. I remember doing this with my first born and then I had a second child, who has the complete opposite personality of the first!
I have a feeling Bear isn’t allowed to say he is feeling unwell… rather than get through whatever is making him feel “less than great!” No kid climbs a tree while feeling sick.
what an a#%hole, the only reason your son has never been sick or needed antibiotics is LUCK
and privilege. no stress, comfortable life, small classes, classmates who can stay home when they’re sick, kids who have access to the best food and medical care.
Remember those two seconds when people were saying she didn’t age because of veganism and then it turned out that the rest of the Cluless cast didn’t age either?
I think it’s good when people with alternative lifestyles share what works for them, I hate when they brag about it or worse, when they think they know more than doctors! Why do anti-vaxxers get to talk nonsense without facing legal consequences is beyond me.
As for not wanting any work done, I didn’t take it as her being smug about it, it’s true that actresses are expected to alter their faces as they age.
My experience has shown me that when smug parents say “never sick”, what they usually mean is “he wasn’t projectile vomiting, so I sent him to school”. These people can be so thoughtless. They don’t consider that other kids (or teachers), regardless of dietary habits, may not have healthy immune systems. (But you can bet that if the kid gets sick at school, they’ll blame the teacher for letting another child consume a graham cracker and non-organic apple juice within 500 yards of their precious walking petrie dish.)
What I found was the opposite. The schools wouldn’t count it as an excused absence (and you could only have so many unexcused) unless they were feverish or vomiting and you still often needed a doctor’s note. I was fortunate enough to have the choice to be a SAHM so I would’ve automatically kept them home for coughing, etc. Instead I had to schlep them to a same day doctor’s appointment or ER visit so I could get a note saying exactly what I knew. Again,I was also lucky to have good health insurance. One time, and this was when I was working again and so it’s not like you can usually just call and say you’re not coming in (I was mostly fortunate in this regard though but that day I needed to be at work and y hubby was deployed) I took my son to school, headed straight for the school nurse, told her the symptoms and she checked him out and excused him from school and we headed back home. The rules are crazy and put the students and teachers at risk. And they also needlessly drive up medical costs, out of pocket copays and insurance premiums
I hope I’m wrong, but I feel like she puts WAY too much on this kid, and is so borderline obsessive about their food and lifestyle. Hopefully he’s as easy going as she says, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt a lot of pressure to always be perfect.
Also, it’s great he’s so healthy, but they’re LUCKY. I know a little kid who had to undergo cancer treatments this spring. My friend’s nephew was a perfectly healthy kid until a rare genetic disorder started showing symptoms. Bragging this way, especially during a pandemic, is just thoughtless.
So the commenters here are so bloody on point about everything in this thread. Big yups to all the reasonable parents here. AS sounds like such as ass.
All I can add, really, is that, while I’m horribly judgmental about parents (famous or not) loading their small children’s lives up on social media with no regard to their individual privacy, I have to say AS seems to be pretty smart about heading the paps off at the pass. I can’t blame celebs for that–ultimately that has to be easier on the kids than the Angelina Jolie alternative of pap-swarms (which has to in some kids contribute to acquired narcissism syndrome–being treated like gods from a young age. That can’t be healthy-person child-rearing).
But otherwise she sounds ignorant af.
She’s exhausting. Is she anti vax?
Yes. Rabidly.
I’m not superstitious really, but even I wouldn’t tempt fate by bragging about the health of my child in this manner. Wow
If he gets a snotty nose but still climbs a tree, it probably means he’s had more than two colds in his life but just continues playing like most kids do.
Ugh I was that mum, except it was no refined foods, all meat, greens and raw dairy blah blah. I was exhausting and feel like the only excuse I have was that I was a young mum (21 when I had her) and I wanted to be and appear perfect. I don’t know what Alicia’s excuse is..I mean its not like vegetarian or vegan is even that big a thing anymore, not something one has to defend I mean…and what if her kid does get sick. Like god forbid he gets cancer or something, would she flip her reasoning back onto itself and take “blame”? I think (and hope) not..
Wow, amazing to come to the conclusion that her choices in lifestyle has made her son healthy. First, we are not on a plant-based diet but neither of my two children who are around Bear’s age has ever needed to take any antibiotics. I think this is due to doctors nowadays being more careful not to subscribe antibiotics for smaller infections, as we are on the verge of having a problem with multi-resistant bacteria and also plain good luck. They have not had ear infections that has been severe enough and also kids can have a fever and still climb the walls at home, they rarely get knocked out like us adults do when they have an infection. Plant-based is surely good for the earth and probably for people’s health too, but vaccines has saved uncountable amounts of lives. She can be happy about her fortune and be proud about her lifestyle without being judgy, and unfortunately she comes of a bit judgmental in the interview above.
I’ve been vegetarian since I was a teen. I barely ate it as a child and was sometimes kind of forced. Not shoved down my throat, but you know, highly pressured. I started getting sick to my stomach when I ate meat and my mom laid off me. One time in all these decades I accidently took a spoonful of meat sauce my m other claimed was marinara. I mean, it was an accident on her part, but she got so mad at me for saying, “this tastes like blood”. She said I’m ridiculous. And then the flippant “you’ll live”. I flipped out, believe me. Anyway, I’m not a meat-eater hating on vegans, I’m almost vegan. I don’t do milk or ice cream or cream. I do eat cheese.
Alicia is a moron, sorry. Judgement rendered by nearly lifelong vegetarian who has been slowly morphing into vegan for about a decade.
Bear’s smile makes me smile. That’s all.
Ugh, get off your high horse Alicia! So smug, and guess what, not everyone can afford to do Vegan, it gets expensive and we’re in the middle of a soul sucking pandemic.Someone gave me her cookbook and after flipping through it for a few minutes, I immediately went and donated it. It was one of the most condescending things I’d ever read. Hard pass.
This is what gets me, Sarah. There is an enormous amount of privilege wrapped up in being able to eat like Silverstone and her son do. So many people not only can’t afford a lot of these foods, but the education and opportunity to be vegan/vegetarian are not present for all people. What about the parents who live in food deserts? Small towns in the middle of nowhere with one tiny grocery store. Or people who live in an area of a city with just a corner store? What if you don’t have the means or the transportation ability to go to Whole Foods? I just hate this kind of food evangelism. Thing is, there are probably forms of activism she could take on to give more people to the opportunity to be vegan if they want. But she clearly prefers the self-righteous route.
@ Green Desert : I belong to a food co-operative in my city. It has organic foods and good locally grown produce. It’s great but it’s not cheap to shop there. And you’re right about the food desert – not everyone has easy access to this kind of food. I’m lucky.
This. Veganism is great, and should be an option for anyone who can do it and wants to. BUT the rhetoric among typically urban, educated, middle-class vegans (my demographic, what can I say) is blinkered that way–and PS incredibly offensive to many Indigenous communities. Moralizing about meat-eating/hunting in a world with such a history of colonialism is yeeeeeeesh, and a bit too Manifest Destiny for my taste.
I wonder if her kid is healthy because they have good vitamin D levels? Because they play outside a lot? Because they and their mom have a good support system? Because they have high socio economic status snd white privilege, which has been correlated with feeling secure and safe in the US, as well as better health outcomes and longevity?
Health isn’t just about getting sick, it’s also relational, emotional, mental, and genetic, as well as societal and historical. If only diet changes could cure medical racism, sexism, lack of PPE, classism etc. Sigh.
“The Clueless actress said of her son.” I know what the article meant, but it still made me LOL.
Haha, same
Meh. My son grew up on a regular single mom (cheap, healthy-ish) diet and the first time he got sick was in high school, and it was just a cold.
One thing I am worried about with creating my Covid-free bubble is if my immune system is going to take a hit because I’m not being exposed to other germs.
This is such a stupid flex – it’s like the attendance awards at school. How is it something to brag about that you were lucky enough not to get sick that school year? Pssh.
The rebellion this kid is going to go through when he hits the teen years will be epic. She’s only cool with all of his self-directed choices so far because they’ve completed aligned with her own life choices. But let the kid decide he wants to eat meat or become a young Republican or something and she will lose her mind.
Also: why does she think she needs to show the world what natural aging looks like? Uh, we get it. Outside of hollywood, the majority of people don’t get any work done. If I want to know what aging without plastic surgery looks like all I have to do is look around or in the mirror.
I can’t get over the “This is a plant based child” line. Is she raising Bear or Groot?!
I’m vegetarian so I think meat-less diets are good. However, I’d like to know if this child goes to an actual school and hangs around other kids his age? Perhaps he hasn’t caught anything because he’s only around his mom? Simply not eating meat isn’t going to stop him from getting a cold/flu.
Soooo her kid’s immune system is soooo strong that she didn’t have him wear a mask while the guy cut his hair??? The hair dresser was wearing a mask! How incredibly irresponsible. And Bear is 9, not under two and definitely in the age range in which he should be wearing a mask. She’s definitely anti-vaccine too, that’s for sure.
Though from what I remember, I don’t believe people under 18 will be getting the COVID vaccine anyways? Or am I mistaken in that thinking.
No judgement about other’s dietary preferences, but does anyone else think this kid is going to grow up with difficulties? It has to be hard to live up to being your mothers Plant based Superhero my goodness.
I know a young, single woman who is vegetarian and has raised her son, now 11, on a vegetarian diet. The kid gets the usual colds, etc, but the big thing is he’s a f*cking monster. He’s not calm as a result of not eating meat, he’s a selfish, angry brat who won’t even flush the toilet because “mom does it for me”. Her family has done an intervention with her because he’s such a flippant, rude a-hole to everyone. He’s growing up to be an entitled, tantrum-throwing toddler who must get his own way. I envision a day when Alicia’s perfect son flips on her, gets sick and starts mouthing off to her. She won’t be so sanctimonious then.
He won’t flush the toilet? What the hell?
Bear is a cute kid and looks a lot like his mom.
Raising one healthy kid doesn’t make you an expert on raising healthy kids, just like raising one good sleeper didn’t make me an expert on good sleepers (as my second child showed me). Kids can be healthy until they aren’t. I agree with her that diet contributes to health, but implying that her way is the only good parenting is extremely elitist.
She spelled privileged wrong.
It’s not unusual for a nine year old to never have been seriously ill or used antibiotics. That’s a strange thing to brag about.
Yeah, I read this thinking the same thing. I had bad flu once when I was about 5—fever, hallucinations, the whole bit. After that, I got the occasional cold and a few ear infections, which I had to be vigilant about because of my hearing loss. Looking back, I probably took more meds than I needed to, just to be on the safe side. A lot of the time, my doctor didn’t even check; my mom would call and say I had an earache, and they’d send meds. But apart from that, nothing serious. I don’t think that’s unusual!
What she doesn’t say is that someone can be plant based and still eat garbage. Sugar and processed flour are plant based. Her son lives in an environment where it’s easy to stay healthy – clean water, clean air, fresh organic food. A healthy child should always be celebrated but she is smug.
I completely agree with everyone who pointed out the privilege of having a healthy child. It’s partly or mostly luck. It’s also her wealth, in a country where many people don’t have good or any healthcare and can’t afford organic produce.
And I REALLY wish celebrity parents would not put their young kids in the public eye on some personal issue like this. He is nine years old! Let him have some privacy.
Yes, that’s the biggest issue with Alicia for me. She’s exposing her son in excruciating detail to the world before he’s old enough to make a choice. In France you can’t even post pics of your children on social media without repercussions, apparently.
She is LUCKY that her son hasn’t been sick. And I’m glad for her. She looks really beautiful and healthy. BUT I think it’s genetics and luck. I think that Vegan eating can be a healthy lifestyle, but it’s not the end all be all. I don’t know the research.
I don’t like her smugness. She is taking credit for being extremely lucky.
My 11 year old son also never gets sick. I had to give him antibiotic cream once for a gnarly spider bite. No ear aches, colds, flu, etc. Just a healthy kid.
My 13 year old daughter catches every bug that comes through. Every time!
Both eat the same diet- mostly healthy but with occassional chicken nuggets and fries, ice cream, and junk. In fact, my daughter eats much more fruit and veggies than my son. He would live on goldfish if I’d let him.
Let me guess – he’s homeschooled? Because there’s a huge exposure point he’s missing out on right there. I was raised omnivore and wasn’t excessively sick, either. Most of it’s just luck. I think the most antibiotics I was on was a severe sinus infection I got in my teen years that wound up giving me acute asthma. It’s not that special – not that diet, unless it’s a matter of malnutrition, influences immunity that much.
I don’t know, medically speaking, if any of this is actually good. My doctor told me it’s actually good for kids to get sick, it’s a normal part of building the immune system. I was sick all the time as a child, ear infections etc., and I never get sick now.
It’s less of an issue in the era of modern sanitation and medicine, but it means more sick days as an adult since your body has to form immunity without the benefit of a well established antibody Rolodex to choose from. Of course, it’s a bigger issue if they aren’t vaccinated against the big bads like measles because those diseases can have major medical side effects even if they don’t kill you.
The smugness is off the charts with this one. She gave an interview a few months ago saying that she and Bear have been taking long baths together during the pandemic. Bear obviously doesn’t spend a lot of time with other children, because if she thought the kids who questioned his long hair were bullies, imagine them knowing he takes long baths with his Mother at almost 10 years old? She can’t give him privacy about anything and she’s so focussed on her way being the only way, I wonder how much of a voice he actually has in that household. He’ll be hitting puberty in a few years. Vegan diet or not, there are normal physical and behavioural changes that occur and I don’t imagine she’ll handle it well.
We recently made the decision to go vegetarian 90% of the time. We’ll still have the occasional weekend sushi dinner/turkey sub, but that’s it. So I’m on fire to find good vegetarian cookbooks. I cannot tell you how many times Ive passed up her “cookbook” at the thrift store or 2nd hand bookstore. She is so smug and entitled. Won’t spend $2 on it.
Any of the “Oh She Glows” cookbooks are fabulous. The recipes are freakin’ delicious!
May I suggest Madhur Jaffrey’s Vegetarian India and Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian? Also Deb Perleman, who runs the website “Smitten Kitchen” has many great vegetarian recipes.
This is an incredibly dangerous thing to tell both her child and to tell herself, especially if she believes it. That her child is so special and privileged, he can’t get sick, and also getting sick is something that happens as a punishment for “bad” choices. This child’s hollywood tell-all memoir will be something.
It’s also puts huge pressure on her child if, God forbid, he does get sick someday? Has he learned that only other people get sick or feel depressed? He’s a child, not a brand.
Her gauge on being sick is off. As a mom of 3 boys, I can tell you, they will play sick, doesn’t mean they don’t have a cold, even a low grade fever.
I predict this kid will be going out to McD’s in about 6 years.
Also, as much as our good intentions and actions contribute to our health (exercise and diet), there are so many things beyond out control (environmental toxins etc) so my sagely parenting advice is to pour yourself a big mug of STFU every single day and practice quiet gratitude for good health
My niece and nephew aren’t yet 10 and they’ve been raised vegetarian. A few weeks ago, my brother forgot to substitute facon for real bacon on their pizza. The last time I talked to them, they couldn’t wait to tell me how much they loved bacon, lol. I’m fine with their being mostly vegan (I am too), but I have also wondered if they would ever be curious about meat and try it once they were able to make their own food choices.
And he’ll resent her for exposing him to the world before he was old enough to make that choice for himself.
Oh, isn’t she smug? My niece and nephew are plant-based and until this year, when they switched to online learning, got colds upon colds. I was kind of a junk food eater in my teens, much to my mom’s chagrin, and I don’t remember ever getting sick. Correlation doesn’t necessarily equal causation.
Too much evangelism turns people off. I know she’s passionate about veganism (don’t agree with anti-vax stance) and I think plant based is great but this is not the right approach. Also giving her child the choice to be an anonymous person before he turns 18 would be far more responsible. Also it’s “I’m going to lie down,” not “lay down” in this instance. A good mum would correct their kid’s bad English. LOL.
My sister saw Alicia and Bear on a flight a couple of years ago. Bear was yelling and running up and down the aisles. A passenger asked the flight attendant if they could be asked to be quiet, and after being asked she exclaimed loudly they would sit down because of all the uptight people. Maybe she has different ideas about what calm is.
She’s loopy and he’s a really beautiful kid. That’s all I’ve got to say.
Since when was Alicia the sort of actress that people were dying to see onscreen, either surgically enhanced or not? She’s had approximately one memorable film role, which seemed to me more a credit to the writer/director Amy Heckerling (and the source material, “Emma”) than to Silverstone’s acting chops.
I’m exhausted of this anti vaxx actress. She should not be giving medical or nutritional advice to anybody. She doesn’t have any medical qualification and is our there spreading her nonsense. I hope she gets cancelled soon.
I couldn’t wait for celebitchy to write about this one. I have a kid with a nasty autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder that appears to be triggered by infection and inflames the brain- not unlike the way syphilis functions in the body. I have spent years wondering what combo of genes and environmental toxins (mold etc) and infection (even common ones) turned my Little’s body against her.
I breastfed for years, attachment parented etc and for 3.5 years endured increasingly terrifying psychotic episodes while upwards of 15 professionals I went to searching for help told me it was my parenting and to have stronger boundaries or give her more structure or if only I would meditate better I would heal my child.
In April she finally got a diagnosis and Within 10 days of taking 9 doses per day of an antibiotic cocktail the rages stopped and she was behaving more or less like a normal kid. She is still on those antibiotics!
Never in a million years would I have thought my kid would take antibiotics for months- we were all bone broth breast milk etc.
Alicia and others like her lack exposure to hardship and to situations outside their control. They could use a huge reality check as I don’t wish disease or devastation on anyone.
I do want to say one thing here- my kid was suicidal after her third to last vaccine to complete her childhood doses. I wish we could have a more nuanced discussion of vaccination as opposed to labeling all anti vaxxers crazy and narcissistic. My kid has had all but two shots now but I will def get a medical exemption given her condition and saw severe and rapid deterioration post vaccine in January – you haven’t lived until you’ve heard your precious five year old talk about killing her self.
There’s more to immunity and public health than the sadly black and white side-taking and we need to have intelligent people discussing who is vulnerable and how to find and protect them before the unthinkable takes place.
It’s not just diet or genes or trauma or environmental factors but all of them.
As fir Alicia and her ilk I hope they have support when their perfectly crafted vegan lives go sideways in some way because the sanctimonious nonsense probably doesn’t win many true friends
I grew up in a middle class two parent household. Neither of my parents could cook so a lot of processed ready to make/heat food. I didn’t need antibiotics until I was 16 and got my wisdom teeth out (one was impacted enough to have an abscess join the party). I took them, not a big deal. I was rarely sick and had the perfect attendance award in grade school 5 years in a row.. Explain that Alicia.
My 15yo has never been sick (other than very rare short-lived fevers), and his favorite food is pepperoni pizza. Bacon cheeseburgers. Oh and chips.