Courteney Cox, 59, wishes she’d been a ‘firmer parent’ with daughter Coco Arquette, 19, and ‘stepped in’ when the teen was rebelling

Courteney Cox is reflecting on her parenting journey now that her daughter Coco Arquette is 19.

The Friends star, 59, sat down for an interview with Minnie Driver about hair Minnie Questions podcast and got candid about her parenting style – albeit with the benefit of a 20/20 outlook now that Coco is an adult.

Speaking about situations Coco has experienced in the past, Courteney – who recently went out to dinner with friends at Giorgio Baldi – said: “I didn’t want to intervene even though I knew something was wrong because she would get so mad at me .’

Like many children, Coco, who shares Courteney with ex-husband David Arquette, 52, was convinced her mother didn’t understand what she was going through and insisted on going her own way.

“I understood and I should have trusted myself and I should have stepped in,” the Cougar Town alum added.

The Friends star, 59, sat down for an interview with Minnie Driver on her Minnie Questions podcast and got candid about her parenting style – albeit with a 20/20 outlook now that Coco is all grown up

“I’m not saying I made her who she is, but you do see things in other people, whether it’s always taking care of people and being the nicest person,” she continued.

But Courteney realizes she’s saying all this from a different place in her life — not who she was years ago when the situations occurred.

“And I mean, that’s one of the things that comes with age: I’ve learned to say no, I’ve learned to set boundaries.

“But I mean, back in the day, when she was a kid, or not too many years ago, I wish I would have been a more steadfast parent,” she explained.

‘People will say, “Why do you make Coco wear so much makeup?” She’s been wearing makeup for a long time, which is a self-expression for her,” Cox explained.

‘She likes to dress up. She’s going to dye her hair, a week ago it was purple, I think it’s now blonde at the bottom before it was blue.”

The Scream actress joked that Coco has changed her hair color so many times that “we’ve ruined the bathroom a thousand times.”

But in the end, children will remain children. “I think of course we should just let them be themselves, with boundaries,” she said. ‘I’m not very good at boundaries. I have to get better at it.’

Host Driver also asked Courtney if there was anything she didn’t like about herself.

Regarding situations Coco has experienced in the past, Courteney said, “I didn’t want to intervene even though I knew something was wrong because she would get so mad at me.”

Like many children, Coco, who Courteney shares with ex-husband David Arquette, 52, was convinced her mother didn’t understand what she was going through and insisted on going her own way.

“I understood and I should have trusted myself and I should have stepped in,” the Cougar Town alum added

“I’m not saying I made her who she is, but you do see things in other people, whether it’s always taking care of people and being the nicest person,” she continued.

But Courteney acknowledges she’s saying all this from a different place in life — not who she was 15-20 years ago, pictured with Coco’s dad David Arquette in 2019

“And I mean, that’s one of the things that comes with age: I’ve learned to say no, I’ve learned to set boundaries. But I mean, earlier, when she was a child, or not even that many years ago, I wish I would have been a more steadfast parent,” she explained.

“The thing I like least about myself is any feelings of jealousy,” she shared, adding that she’s not sure if it’s age or insecurity or what leads to her jealousy.

“Whether you can feel replaced or whether it’s… I think jealousy is just such a terrible emotion to have, and I have that sometimes.

“I get jealous or scared, whether it’s because I’m getting older and can’t stay in the game, or it could be about anything, but every time I get jealous I can’t handle it,” she continued.

“I’ll talk to my therapist and say, ‘I just hate this feeling,'” she added.