Alicia Silverstone stands by her baby feeding technique

Washington, Apr 11 (ANI): Alicia Silverstone has defended her controversial practice of feeding her son, Bear Blu, by feeding him food that she had chewed, directly from her mouth to his.

The 35-year-old actress sparked a parenting debate last month after publishing video footage of herself demonstrating the bizarre technique with her 10-month-old son, with some critics even claiming the practice is unhygienic.

The 'Clueless' star admits she never expected the clip to cause a media storm and insists the tactic has been used by mums for "thousands of years" to help toddlers adjust to solid foods.

"People have been feeding their kids that way for thousands for years. It's a weaning process... I think it's adorable and it makes me laugh every time he does it," Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

"He attacks my mouth and I think it's adorable. He also knows how to use his hands and he also eats regular food so when babies are weaning, he still breastfeeds. Some people think that's disgusting too which is insane. It's just a thing that has been going on for thousands of years," she said.

Despite the backlash, Silverstone does not regret her decision of sharing the video with online fans.

"Every time my husband goes to the YMCA some guy comes over and says, 'That's how we do it in the south!' Between him getting those great comments and me knowing in my gut it's natural and lovely, I really wasn't trying to tell anybody what to do," she said.

"I wasn't saying this was anything somebody should do. I wasn't trying to be independent or cause such a ruckus. I'm very glad that I did it," she added. (ANI)