It is no secret that what mothers, fathers and guardians do for their kids in the present has an impact on how they grow up and the type of adults they turn out to be.
This is why once you become a parent every decision you make is done with your child's best interest at heart.
For Alicia Silverstone, feeding her six-year-old son, Bear Blue Jarecki, a plant-based diet is one of those important decisions she knew she had to make from the start.
Recently, Silverstone was the keynote speaker at Good Housekeeping magazine's #RaiseTheGreenBar sustainability summit in New York City and she opened up about how beneficial veganism has been for her entire family, especially her son.
The 42-year-old told Page Six that Bear has rarely gotten sick because of his vegan lifestyle.
"He's never had to take medicine in his life," Silverstone explained. "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."
The young boy previously revealed that he's happy being vegan because he doesn't have to "eat yucky meat." His mom has made the lifestyle very easy for him by cooking all his favorite dishes, like tacos, at home whenever he craves them.
"I can make all those things based on what's in the fridge," Silverstone said in a 2017 video for Farm Sanctuary's Compassionate Meals program. "You always have a bean, you always have a whole grain."
The Clueless actress, who co-parents Bear with her ex-husband Christopher Jarecki, gave up eating meat and other animal by-products at the age of 21.
She has since been an advocate for veganism, and appeared on numerous talk shows over the years, discussing the benefits of adopting a plant-based diet.
Despite her strong feelings about the lifestyle, she doesn't push her opinions down people's throats and never judges how others eat.
"I totally don't judge anything anyone else does," she told People TV. "I'm only interested in helping provide information in case you want to know a piece of this secret I've found ... If you don't, all love and peace."
Some people have criticized the actress for feeding her son a vegan diet, arguing that it's not nutritious. However, Silverstone defended her decision, revealing that Bear "loves the food I give him."
"He's not being deprived of anything.," she told People in 2014. "For him, having amazing fruit is like candy!"
Bear's veganism isn't the only parenting choice that has gotten Silverstone some backlash in the past.
In 2012, Silverstone was the talk of the town when she posted a video of herself chewing food and then feeding it directly into her son's mouth.
"It's his favorite...and mine," she said at the time. "He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if I'm eating."
She responded to the critics, explaining that it's part of the "weaning process."
"People have been feeding their kids that way for thousands for years.It's a weaning process. Honestly, when I posted the video I was not thinking, so maybe I was like Cher!" Silverstone said, referring to her Clueless character.
For those who are still concerned about kids on vegan diets, experts have agreed that it won't hinder a child's growth and while critical nutrients such as iron and calcium, may be harder to obtain, plant-based foods still contain them.
"Children on vegan diets tend to have higher fiber intake because they eat more fruits and vegetables, and lower cholesterol, saturated fat, and total fat levels," Lauren Blake, a registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, told Health.com. "Research shows children who are vegetarian or vegan are leaner overall, too."
