Birds do it. So…why can’t moms?
That’s Libra mother Alicia Silverstone’s justification for posting a video of herself feeding her Taurus son Blue Bear directly from her mouth. And people are having a field day with it.
On her blog The Kind Life (perfect name for a gentle, justice-loving Libra), Silverstone writes:
I just had a delicious breakfast of miso soup, collards and radish steamed and drizzled with flax oil, cast iron mochi with nori wrapped outside, and some grated daikon. Yum! I fed Bear the mochi and a tiny bit of veggies from the soup…from my mouth to his. It’s his favorite…and mine. He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if I’m eating.
Is feeding your baby sparrow-style that unusual? I really don’t think so. My Taurus husband uses his teeth to cut tiny-enough pieces of meat for our Libra daughter Cybele. They share Alicia and Bear’s signs, incidentally—and both signs are ruled by affectionate Venus. Closeness is a priority, even if that goes a few steps beyond sharing a dinner plate. What’s so “disgusting” about it anyway? Unless she’s passing germs to him, which I’m sure she isn’t, it’s her prerogative as a mom to feed him however she wants.
And hey, don’t we all have some “weird” mothering habits that, unlike Silverstone, we wouldn’t have the ovaries to put on camera? I get raised eyebrows for breast-feeding a kid with a full set of teeth. Or (gross confession) for letting her share her yogurt with Lulu, our dachshund. Many a time, I’ve looked over and there’s Cybele, laughing while the dog licks yogurt off her face—and spoon.
There’s no right way to mother, yet we’re all so scared of being judged. (We love Babble Deputy Editor Mira Jacob’s article on the other secret habits of parents.) Our Momstrology mantra: parenting doesn’t come with a handbook—but your kids do, and it’s in their astrological charts. A sterilized spoon-and-fork set might do the trick for one child, while pre-chewed nori fits another. [Do a free birth chart for your child here.]
Frankly, what grabbed my attention more was Silverstone’s elaborate breakfast menu. I thought, “I hope she has a private chef or some Tupperware, because who has time to make all of that food?” Writing this at seven in the morn, my Sagittarius stomach kinda hitched imagining radishes and flax oil at this hour—but hey, it’s not for everyone.
I know so many Libras who are hardcore macrobiotic and raw food devotees—or just follow super-specific dietary restrictions. It’s the whole “striving for balance thing. They often start as major sugar addicts who have to swing to the opposite extreme just to stop themselves from cleaning out the candy aisle.
Plus, as the sign of justice, many of them can’t stand the idea of hurting animals or the earth to have a decent meal. (Note to Libra mamas, just make sure you don’t accidentally pass along “eating issues” to your kids, even if you follow a strict regimen yourself.)
Silverstone is the author of The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Losing Weight, Feeling Great and Saving the Planet, and while “simple” might not be completely accurate, I have to give her kudos for being open about her unconventional-ish mothering style. The introductory video on Silverstone’s blog is clearly homemade, unrehearsed and from the heart. She appears without makeup often.
While some of her vegan-inspired views may sound extreme to mainstream moms, at least her intentions are good. She’s not parading her kid around in a pageant or acting like her celebrity puts her above it all. She’s trying to make the world a kinder, healthier and greener place. She’s opening herself up to criticism in the hopes of inspiring more conscious parenting. (She named her son Bear, so she probably doesn’t give a rat’s ass what we think of her.)
So even as I sign off to scramble myself an egg—which I probably won’t share directly from my mouth with Cybele—I’ll raise my fork in the name of non-judgmental parenting. There’s something to chew on indeed.