Jennifer Garner enjoys shopping trip with daughter Violet Affleck, 18… after taking advice from her children to play a teenage girl in new film

Jennifer Garner was spotted one day after New Year’s enjoying a shopping outing in Los Angeles with her 18-year-old daughter Violet.

The 51-year-old actress is co-parenting three children – Violet, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11 – with her ex-husband Ben Affleck.

Although the former couple split up nearly a decade ago, they have retained a famously amicable equation while bringing up their children.

This Tuesday, Jennifer grabbed a bit of one-on-one quality time with her eldest, walking arm in arm with her down the street.

For her latest outing, the Juno actress cut a casual figure in a cozy-looking sky blue sweater and a pair of fitted jeans with dark shades.

The sighting comes after Jennifer revealed she sought out tips from her own daughters before playing a teenager trapped in her mother’s body.

She has just starred in the new Netflix movie Family Switch about a Freaky Friday scenario that befalls a married couple, their three children and their dog.

In the over-the-top comedy, all the members of the household wake up one day and discover that they have swapped bodies with each other.

‘You’re turning the volume up so much because it’s all so exaggerated,’ Jennifer told People. ‘But yes, I definitely went to my teens and asked a bunch of questions.’

Violet and Seraphina took the typical teenage view of their mother’s enthusiasm, as Jennifer fondly shared: ‘They were all like: “Mom, you’re crazy.”‘

She added: ‘My kids are funny and they’re smart, and they work really hard. And their teenage antics are at the very lowest, G-rated level, so I’m doing okay.’

That being said, she revealed she has no interest in trading lives with them, saying: ‘You know what? I think my kids work so hard, and they have so much pressure on them that I could never even have imagined as a teenager myself.’

The mother of three touchingly noted that ‘it hasn’t really sunk in’ that Violet is on the verge of going off to college, though she will occasionally ‘have moments where it hits me. But so far, I’m just excited for her.’

Family Switch stars Jennifer alongside Ed Helms as her husband and Emma Myers and Brady Moon as their two older children.

Oscar-winning actress Rita Moreno of West Side Story fame plays the astrologist whose visit with Jennifer’s character sets the plot in motion.

On the personal front, Jennifer is currently in a long-term on-off relationship with one John Miller, while Ben has married his early-aughts flame Jennifer Lopez.

Rounding off the blended family, J-Lo is bringing up a set of 15-year-old twins called Max and Emme, whom she shares with her third ex-husband Marc Anthony.

A source recently informed DailyMail.com that the J-Lo marriage has helped Ben and his ex-wife ‘get to a better place’ in their own equation.

‘Ben is healthy. The drama of the past and the emotions of divorce are long gone and they are all making it work,’ the insider explained.

Ben’s two wives are apparently ‘friendly’ with one another, and all of the children in the blended family are said to ‘love each other.’

The source shared: ‘It is really a very happy co-parenting situation. Everything is really good right now and should be the same in the near and distant future.’

A previous article on the UK website Closer Online claimed J-Lo was ‘blindsided’ and ‘furious’ at the sight of pictures of Ben and his ex-wife looking friendly.

Meanwhile Ben was claimed to be ‘saying Jennifer’s like his sister at this point and if J-Lo’s going to get jealous and throw tantrums over a harmless cuddle, then the problem’s on her. It’s a real war of attrition here that’s threatening to blow up.’

However, an insider assured DailyMail.com that Ben and J-Lo were ‘very much in love with each other’ and the rumors of tension in the marriage were false.

‘Their relationship is still on fire. They are really happy with each other, and there’s no drama in their relationship right now at all.’