Alicia Silverstone Clueless?

So my husband just showed me the link to the video of Alicia Silverstone feeding her son by chewing up the food in her mouth first, then feeding it to him, mouth-to-mouth style like a bird. He knew it would send me to the moon. Though I can’t fault her if she feels some connection bonding with him in this, I’ll say, unique way, watching it honestly made me want to vomit. It was scarier to me than a horror movie.

I started my own son on pureed foods from a spoon at 4 months against many negative opinions who felt that it was way to early, because most of the books and the American Academy of Pediatrics state that 6 months is ideal.  By 10 months he was eating all sorts of softer table foods from the store, that included fruits, meats and vegetables.  All purees and jarred baby food were off my grocery list. I’m lucky, today as a 2 year old, he’s got preferences but I wouldn’t call him picky. Yes, I may have placed a piece of food in my mouth to chew it and gum it and see how it broke down, in order to see what might happen if he ate it, but pre-chewing it for  a child’s enjoyment or for bonding purposes seems completely counterproductive to me.

I spend my professional career as an occupational therapist teaching kids at an early age how to feed themselves either with their fingers or utensils. I guess I’m simply not programmed to think that feeding a child “baby bird style” is helpful to their independence long term. I honestly believe there is a window of opportunity when feeding children and if you miss it, they develop habits and preferences that many people and insurance companies spend months and years paying lots of good money to break. What will this little boy be doing at older ages if he decides to exert his toddler will and demands he be fed like that everywhere and all the time? What if he does what many toddlers do and places something in his mouth, but he hasn’t safely learned to chew it because he hasn’t had the practice? For his sake and her sanity later on, I hope she is making sure to offer him food with a utensil or on his tray other meals of the day so he can practice the art and skill of learning to feed himself and safely chew food.

As a parent I can understand wanting to bond with your child. Though there could be worse things out there, and maybe I’m overreacting, I know we all try to make the best decisions possible with the information we have.  Well Alicia, if you happen to read this and ever need some strategies on how to transition your son to a more independent way of feeding, I’m here to help if you need it.

If you’d like to see the video here it is. Mangia.