Courteney Cox reveals her biggest challenge raising her daughter: ‘I’m not always good with boundaries’

‘I get worn out,’ the actor says

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Courtney Cox has revealed that one of her biggest challenges when raising her 17-year-old daughter, Coco, is setting boundaries.

Speaking to People on 26 January, Cox, 57, explained that, just like many mothers and daughters, she and Coco have had a few arguments.

“We fight,” the Friends star said. “I’ve learned that boundaries are important and to keep them because I know it makes her feel safe.”

But for Cox, setting those boundaries is sometimes easier said than done.

“But I’m not always good with boundaries,” she added. “I get worn out. You’ve got to pick your battles and decide what is important.”

Despite their disagreements, Cox emphasised how much she still values every moment that she spends with her daughter, and admires who Coco has become.

“I think she’s funny, and I love hanging out with her,” Cox explained. “I love when she needs me. She’s fun. And you could never be mad at her, ever, for too long.”

“Coco’s a really good apologiser,” she added. “I should save her texts. That girl could talk her way out of anything.”

Along with her life as a parent, Cox revealed the good parts about co-parenting with Coco’s father, David Arquette. The two Scream stars tied the knot in 1999 but divorced in 2013. Arquette married his second wife, Christina McLarty Arquette in 2015, and they share two kids: Charlie, seven, and Augustus, four.

"When there’s no ‘Can I have her during this holiday?’ It’s not like: ‘Well, those are my holidays.’ No, it doesn’t matter,” Cox noted about the realities of co-parenting her daughter.

“Whatever she wants to do and whatever works. There’s never been a contention about stuff like that. And I think that’s really, really important.”

This isn’t the first time that Cox has opened up about her and Coco’s relationship. In another interview with People back in 2018, Cox discussed how much they “laugh” together, regardless of their fights.

“We bicker, let’s be honest, but we love each other,” Cox said. “We laugh a lot, for sure.”

In response, Coco noted that as mother and daughter, a mix of good and bad times was to be expected.

“I would also describe it as, well, I am a 13-year-old girl, you are a mom, so I love you, but of course we’re gonna get in fights,” Coco said. “But we’re very close. Very close. I love you a lot.”

Additionally, Cox and her daugther detailed how much they’ve learned from each other.

“She’s taught me patience,” Cox said. “Probably one of the biggest things she’s taught me is to not take things personally, because really it’s not about us.

“Whatever moods that she goes through where things happen, I’m the safest place to be able to take it out on,” Cox added. It’s never about me, unless it’s actually about me.”

Coco said that her mom has helped her “so much” throughout her childhood and teenage years.

“If a stressful situation is going on, she helps me contain my stress and make me feel better,” Coco explained. “She’s taught me a lot about how to be a stronger person in general.”