Courteney Cox has an incredible relationship with her daughter Coco Arquette – but she has one regret about how she raised her.
The Friends alum – who shares Coco, 19, with actor David Arquette – admitted that she wishes she had been a "firmer parent" during her daughter's younger rebellious years.
"I didn't want to step in even though I knew something wasn't right because she would get so mad at me," the 59-year-old told Minnie Driver on her Minnie Questions podcast.
© Instagram"I did understand, and I should've trusted myself and I should've stepped in," she continued.
"I'm not saying I made her who she is, but you do see things in other people, whether it's just always taking care of people and being the nicest person.
"And I mean, that's one of the things with age, I've learned to say no, I've learned to have boundaries."
She added: "But I mean, earlier on when she was a kid or not even that many years ago, I wish I'd been a firmer parent."
© GettyCourteney is also aware of the criticism she sometimes receives from people judging her parenting style.
"People will say, 'Why do you let Coco wear so much makeup?' She's been wearing makeup forever, that is a self-expression for her," she explained.
"She loves to dress up. She will dye her hair, it was purple a week ago, I think right now it's blonde underneath before it was blue."
The Scream star teased that Coco has dyed her hair so often "we've ruined the bathroom 1,000 times."
© Getty ImagesBut Courteney admits it's important to allow children to express themselves. "I think we just have to let them be themselves with boundaries, of course," she said. "I am not great at boundaries. I have to get better at it."
Courteney is now an empty nester after Coco moved out to attend college after delaying 12 months to enjoy a gap year.
Last year, Courteney appeared on Live! with Kelly and Ryan (now Live! with Kelly and Mark), and joked that she referred to her daughter's gap year as her "nap year".
She added: "It's good. She's been home, so I haven't had that empty nest thing yet. But I know I'm gonna really... I love having her around."
© GettyDuring her appearance, the actress teased that Coco may follow in her family's footsteps. Her dad comes from a big family of actors, including Rosanna and Patricia Arquette.
"She loves musical theater," the actress explained, adding: "She's a really good singer. She's done plays since she was, you know, in kindergarten. Probably like 33 musical theater plays."
"So, she's going into the family business," host Kelly Ripa teased – but Courteney quickly clarified: "I don't sing… let's not go too far in the family part."
She added: "[She has] a very good sense of humor. She cracks me up all the time, just like little things she says."
© InstagramDavid marked his daughter's big move away from home in an Instagram post last August, sharing a photo of Coc posing next to her stepmom Christina Arquette (née McLarty), whom the Scream actor married in 2015.
"We are so proud of you @cocoarquette_ that you're going to college!!!" he wrote in the caption, adding: "We LOVE You!!!!"
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletter and get them delivered straight to your inbox.
