Julie Bowen Shares Her Parenting Dos and Don’ts

Just like her Modern Family character, Claire Dunphy, Julie Bowen is a great mom — and she recently shared her best parenting advice with Us.

First on the docket? Social media. Bowen, 53, allows son Oliver, 16, and twins John and Gus, both 14, to use social platforms, but she asked them to wait until their teen years. (The actress shares her kids with ex-husband Scott Phillips.)

“My kids did not get cell phones until they were 14 and they didn’t get social media until they were 14,” Bowen exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her partnership with Life Cereal. “And boy, am I glad personally that I waited … [their phones are now] glued to their faces.”

Bowen went on to explain that she thinks kids need a “certain level of brain maturity to handle social media,” so she’s happy she waited to give her children access.

“I just think they need more time. They say that your prefrontal cortex isn’t developed until you’re in your twenties,” she shared, adding that she “definitely” checks out her boys’ accounts. “They have to let me follow them. Of course, they could set up secret accounts and all that stuff, but you try to have conversations in a more global sense about being an ethical person and then hope they take into their personal life. There’s a lot of fingers crossed, I’m going to be honest with you.”

Apart from her social media rules, Bowen has also established certain dating standards for her sons.

“They’re very polite as far as girls go. They bring girls over,” she told Us. “I just say, ‘Please be nice and remember you will always see this person.’ No one disappears. So, act as if you’re going to see this person tomorrow at all times. And do not ever post anything, ever, if you don’t want me to see it.”

In addition to her tips for dating and social media, Bowen also has some advice for parents that have picky eaters at home.

“[It’s] not as much a tip as it is a reframing,” she explained. “My sister, who’s a doctor and had kids before me, said, ‘Don’t look at it [like] they have to have a vegetable every day, they’ve got to have fruits every day and all they want to eat is mac and cheese or cereal. Look at it over the course of a week. If you get some fruits and vegetables in them over the course of the week, that’s a win. Stop trying to make every day reach some impossibly perfect benchmark. They’re going to be OK.’”

One staple in Bowen’s pantry is Life Cereal, which she calls a “go-to” for breakfast, late-night snacks and everything in between. Through Sunday, November 19, parents across the United States can call Life Cereal’s hotline at 1-855-4-IFYKYK to share their best parenting pointers or discover new tips from other callers, with the chance to exchange advice with Bowen herself.

“If you’re a mom, the important thing is you learn the past of least resistance. So, partnering with [a brand] like Life couldn’t be easier, because it’s something that is a staple in our home,” she told Us. “Helping other people come up with parenting hacks of their own and listening to parenting tips and tricks from people across the country? It’s like, I wish I had this when I had younger kids. I need this for teenagers now.”

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi