Alicia Silverstone Still Co-Sleeps With Her Tween & People Are Losing It
When it comes to parenting, everything is a two-step process. First, you have to make a decision. Then, you have to deal with the backlash from your decision — no matter what it is. Alicia Silverstone is experiencing the mom shaming once again, as she recently revealed she still co-sleeps with her tween son Bear Blu, and people are absolutely losing it over this information.
The actress, who shares 11-year-old Bear with ex-husband Christopher Jarecki, told The Ellen Fisher Podcast on Tuesday, “Bear and I still sleep together.” She added, “I don’t really care,” about what possible critics might say.
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People are being downright mean about it. One person wrote on Twitter, “Is it real necessary for #AliciaSilverstone to tell the World she still shares a bed with her 11 year old son Bear ?”
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Another person wrote, “Most of Hollywood is this insane,” about the revelation.
Others have taken to commenting on her old Instagram posts. She shared a video of her singing and kissing her son, Bear, on May 5. Someone commented today, “Nah after reading your articles on your parenting ways this is concerning. F–king gross.”
“Why are you snoggin him? Why are you still allowed your child. Omg I’m so sad for him ??,” another wrote.
So, you think a mom shouldn’t be “allowed” to have a child because she kisses him and co-sleeps with him? Other people’s rage about her close relationship with her child is very confusing. And stupid — why does anyone even care, especially to this degree?
The Clueless star mentioned in her interview Tuesday that if wild animals didn’t sleep together, then their “baby is going to get eaten.” “It’s not ideal for the baby to be over there,” she said. Fair point. But again, a mother shouldn’t have to defend herself from innocently sleeping next to her son, ever.
Sadly, Silverstone is used to the mommy shamers. She shared in the podcast about how she has often been critiqued for her “natural” parenting, explaining that people “made fun” of her going vegan. “They want to talk about Clueless, and I’m talking about anal electrocution of fur. And that’s not really want they want to hear,” she laughed.
“I’m a natural mama, and I’m a loving mama,” Silverstone explained. “I believe in love, I believe in nature, and our society is scared of nature and love.”
She is staying positive. “You have to fill yourself with joy and you have to be a healthy, happy person,” she continued. Her son makes her happy, and that’s all that matters.
Other celebrities, like Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, have shared that they still co-sleep with their kids too.
Elisa Basora-Rovira, M.D., a pediatrician specializing in sleep medicine at Children’s Health recognized that co-sleeping with your child is standard practice in many parts of the world. She personally doesn’t recommend it, but mostly because it’s harder to make sure your child gets enough sleep for their age and develops a healthy bedtime routine.
A 2011 study in The American Academy of Pediatrics found that there were no negative associations with bed-sharing in toddlerhood and children’s behavior and cognition at 5 years old.
“After statistical adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics, there were no behavioral or cognitive differences at age 5 between children who bed-shared with a parent during their toddler years and those who did not,” study researcher Lauren Hale, of Stony Brook University, told LiveScience in 2011. “Since we did not find a difference, this study suggests that bed-sharing patterns are not contributing to divergent developmental trajectories.”
Luckily, many people understood that the love Silverstone shares with her son is pure. “Me and my only son are this close too,” one person commented today on her May 5 post. “Slept with me as well at 11. I wouldn’t change a thing. 19 now, goes by fast. Haters don’t have this love ??.”
“Anyone who finds this this sexual or inappropriate should go to therapy,” another commented. “It’s a mom with her son her baby who is growing up. He is still a child who is allowing his mother to love him and he is loving her. Most 10-11yr olds hate their parents and never show any affection. Y’all are nasty of you think anything other than true momma and son affection.”
We couldn’t agree more! Here’s a message for the haters: If you don’t want to co-sleep with your child, then don’t. But stop forcing your rude, offensive, and ridiculous opinions on moms. Nobody has this parenting thing completely figured out, but attacking parents online for something as innocent as co-sleeping — with a child who probably won’t want to cuddle with his mama for much longer — is never OK. And while you’re at it, leave parents with children on planes alone, too.
Read about how Heidi Klum, Angelina Jolie, and more celebrity parents co-sleep with their kids.
Launch Gallery: The Best Products That Help Kids Sleep, According to Real Moms
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