Does the Amount of Time Mothers Spend With Children or Adolescents Matter?

Although intensive mothering ideology underscores the irreplaceable nature of mothers' time for children's optimal development, empirical testing of this assumption is scant. Using time diary and survey data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, the authors examined how the amount of time mothers spent with children ages 3–11 ( N = 1,605) and adolescents 12–18 ( N = 778) related to offspring behavioral, emotional,...