Julie Bowen Shares Her Number One Tip for Having Conversations with Teenagers: 'It's Freaking Magic'

Mar. 15, 2025

Julie Bowen.Photo: Randy Holmes/ABC/getty

Julie Bowenhas one trick up her sleeve when it comes to talking with her teenage sons.Appearing onThe Three Questions with Andy Richter, theModern Familyalum, 54, shared her best parenting advice for dealing with teenagers. Bowen shares her sons her teenage sons — Oliver, 17, and twins John and Gustave, 15 — with ex-husband Scott Phillips.“Make fake cookies in the kitchen no one’s ever gonna eat. They start coming in and out. You start having conversations with teenagers. Being around works,” Bowen shares.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“But planning, trying to be like, you know, ‘It would be fun if we had a super awkward meal at Chipotle together, where you never look up from that weird hair that’s in your face.’ You gotta think ‘No, what would they like to do?’ And you’re like, nothing. They would like to do Nothing,” she continues.“So you just sort of have to, you’ve gotta sort of be there in order to catch the runoff and sometimes it’s freaking magic and great.“Appearing on a September episode ofToday with Hoda & Jenna,Bowennoted that she’s been spending a lot of time awayfrom her sons as she’s worked on her new showHysteria, As she’s tried to find a way to connect with them, the mom of three shared her creative solution.“Luckily, they’ve all grown and different rates and at different times have all gone in that heavy sleep cycle. Right now, cause I’m working on the East Coast and they live in L.A., the only way I communicate with them is through Snapchat,” the actress said.Although Bowen doesn’t often share photos of her sons, last July she posted araresnap on Instagram of all three of them,along with an X-ray photoillustrating a broken wrist.“It’s not a vacation without a trip to the ER for a broken wrist… Both bones broken, but John is on the mend and his brothers were total champs,” she captioned the two shots.

Julie Bowenhas one trick up her sleeve when it comes to talking with her teenage sons.

Appearing onThe Three Questions with Andy Richter, theModern Familyalum, 54, shared her best parenting advice for dealing with teenagers. Bowen shares her sons her teenage sons — Oliver, 17, and twins John and Gustave, 15 — with ex-husband Scott Phillips.

“Make fake cookies in the kitchen no one’s ever gonna eat. They start coming in and out. You start having conversations with teenagers. Being around works,” Bowen shares.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“But planning, trying to be like, you know, ‘It would be fun if we had a super awkward meal at Chipotle together, where you never look up from that weird hair that’s in your face.’ You gotta think ‘No, what would they like to do?’ And you’re like, nothing. They would like to do Nothing,” she continues.

“So you just sort of have to, you’ve gotta sort of be there in order to catch the runoff and sometimes it’s freaking magic and great.”

Appearing on a September episode ofToday with Hoda & Jenna,Bowennoted that she’s been spending a lot of time awayfrom her sons as she’s worked on her new showHysteria, As she’s tried to find a way to connect with them, the mom of three shared her creative solution.

“Luckily, they’ve all grown and different rates and at different times have all gone in that heavy sleep cycle. Right now, cause I’m working on the East Coast and they live in L.A., the only way I communicate with them is through Snapchat,” the actress said.

Although Bowen doesn’t often share photos of her sons, last July she posted araresnap on Instagram of all three of them,along with an X-ray photoillustrating a broken wrist.

“It’s not a vacation without a trip to the ER for a broken wrist… Both bones broken, but John is on the mend and his brothers were total champs,” she captioned the two shots.

source: people.com