All About Alicia Silverstone's Son Bear

Alicia Silverstone and her ex-husband, Christopher Jarecki, welcomed their son Bear in 2011

Alicia Silverstone has always felt that she was meant to be a mother.

While starring in the Broadway play Time Stands Still in 2010, she told PEOPLE she couldn’t wait to be pregnant.

“I’ve been wanting to have a baby since I was 2 years old — I’m destined to be a mother,” said The New York Times bestselling author.

The following year, her wish was granted. In May 2011, she and her then-husband, Christopher Jarecki, welcomed their son, Bear.

In 2018, Silverstone and Jarecki divorced after 13 years of marriage, but the couple have remained friendly co-parents.

“Bear and his daddy and I flow really well together,” she told TODAY Parents in 2020. “We ask Bear where he wants to be. But then I started to wonder if that was too much pressure. So, I checked in with him and he said, 'I love that I get to decide.' We both have different perks!"

Though she always wanted more children, the actress said her divorce is part of the reason that she only had one child.

“I wanted to have more [kids], but then my relationship got messed up, and it wasn’t a great time to bring one in,” she shared on The Ellen Fisher Podcast in 2022. “I didn’t want to have one right away because I was so in love with my Bear."

She continued, "I wanted to squeeze every little moment out of him, so it wasn’t until he was like 3 that I was ready to make another baby and then I didn’t have a partner, so that’s why I don’t have four babies.”

From her alternative child-rearing methods to his massive style change in 2020, here's everything to know about Alicia Silverstone’s son.

He was born in May 2011

The Babysitter’s Club alum and Jarecki welcomed Bear Blu Jarecki on May 5, 2011. He weighed in at 7 lbs., 15 oz, her rep told PEOPLE exclusively at the time.

Silverstone blogged about his arrival on her website, writing, “We are all three in love! I’m so grateful to this community for all the love, support, good wishes and happy vibes you’ve sent me during my pregnancy … it has been wonderful. Thank you all!”

Silverstone used mother bird feeding while raising him

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 about how she “bird feeds” Bear, meaning she pre-chewed his food and fed it to him mouth-to-mouth.

“It’s his favorite … and mine. He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if I’m eating,” she said in the clip.

Despite the negative outcry she received after posting the "technique," the animal rights activist defended her decision.

"I can understand that it would make some people feel uncomfortable, possibly, because it's new to them," Silverstone told Entertainment Tonight in 2012. "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."

He and Silverstone eat a vegan diet

Famously, the American Woman actress adheres to a vegan lifestyle. She made the change when she turned 21 and passed her values down to her son.

“[Bear] loves the food I give him,” she told PEOPLE in 2014. “He’s not being deprived of anything. For him, having amazing fruit is like candy!”

She credits veganism for keeping her son healthy and teaching him about his body’s needs. In 2018, she told Page Six she has never had to give her son medicine.

“He’s never had to take medicine in his life,” Silverstone said. “He can get sniffles and a runny nose but he’s not down, he still goes to school. Two times in his life has he been like, ‘Mommy I don’t feel good,’ and it was only for a few hours and he was back running around.”

Silverstone has a unique approach to disciplining him

When it comes to discipline, the Vamps star believes in open communication rather than consequence.

"Because of the healthy lifestyle that we lead, he didn't go through terrible twos and terrible threes. There wasn't really much of that," Silverstone told PEOPLE in 2020. "When you're really meeting their needs, and you really understand what they want and need ... I didn't find any of that."

She doesn’t claim her son to be perfect, but when they do have conflict, they resolve it together.

"There [have been] moments where there were things we had to redirect and correct, of course, but it just wasn't the fight that you hear about. ... The most I have to say is, 'No thank you, Bear,' " she said. "And he goes, 'Okay.' ... That's my reprimanding."

"And he's got it. Because he respects me and I respect him," Silverstone added.

He co-sleeps with Silverstone

In 2022, Silverstone shared on 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, adding that she is "following nature" with this method.

"If you were in any kind of wild setting where there are animals ... if you put your baby over there, your baby is going to get eaten," she said, pointing away from herself. "It's not ideal for the baby to be over there."

Silverstone looks past the criticism of her unique parenting style

Regardless of the criticism she's faced for how she's raising her child, Silverstone hasn’t wavered in her beliefs.

When asked in a 2018 interview with Redbook if the negative feedback broke her confidence in her methods, the Clueless star said, "Not one bit."

“Because my experience was women on the street who would say, ‘Your book changed my life,' " she said. "I feel very passionate and content with every choice I've made as a mom and as an activist. Anyone who has issues with it can have them; it doesn’t affect me."

She doubled down on this on The Ellen Fisher Podcast, explaining that she focused on raising her child with love.

"I'm a natural momma and I'm a loving momma, and I believe in love, and I believe in nature, and our society is scared of nature and scared of love," she said.

He got a major haircut in 2020

In 2020, Bear made a drastic change in his appearance when he cut his long locks. At the time, his hair was down to his waist.

"He buzzed it. He took it off," Silverstone told Access Hollywood before revealing she saved the chopped-off strands.

While Bear may be happy with his new look, his mom had a harder time coping with the "big growing up moment."

"I didn’t realize how, when they take their hair off, how much it changes [them]," the actress said. "He looks like a kid instead of my baby."

But ultimately, she is happy with the decision, adding that he was "adorable" no matter what.

"These are things that are hard to adjust to but wonderful," she said. "It's so beautiful that they get to make decisions for themselves and grow and fit into themselves, right? It’s pretty amazing."

He and Silverstone teamed up for a PETA campaign

Silverstone wants Bear to "cut class, not frogs."

In April 2024, the mother-son duo appeared in a PETA campaign to raise awareness about animal-free dissection methods in the classroom.

"Dissection is the only thing we ask our kids to do in school that we would be disturbed to find out they were doing outside of school. Cutting up dead animals desensitizes them. It tells them it's OK to hurt other creatures, to hurt each other," Silverstone said in a video for the animal rights nonprofit.

She continued, "There are so many humane alternatives, from 3D models [to] computer programs."

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