The Relation Between the

Time Mothers and Children

Spent Together and the
Children’s Trait Emotional
Intelligence
By: Albert Alegre
Background of the Study

 Parenting practices have been shown to predict children’s emotional

intelligence. The time that mothers and children spend in joint activity is an
important aspect of the parent–child relationship, and it has been found to
be influential in different domains of children’s development. However, it
has not been investigated in relation to children’s emotional intelligence.
This is a void in the literature that needs to be filled.
Objective

 This research gathers preliminary data to study the time mothers and
children spent together in joint activity, the types of activities that they
develop when they are together, and the relation that those activities have
with the children’s trait emotional intelligence.
Assumptions

This study has 5 assumptions: (1) the time mothers and their children spent in
joint activity is expected to positively correlate with children’s trait emotional
intelligence after controlling for responsive parenting. However, not all types of
activities that mothers and children can undertake together are expected to
correlate positively to children’s trait emotional intelligence. Specifically, (2)
the time mothers and children spent together playing and (3) the time they
spent in joint educational activities are expected to positively correlate with
children’s trait emotional intelligence even after controlling for mothers’
responsive parenting. (4) The time that mothers and children spent watching
TV is expected to negatively predict children’s trait emotional intelligence,
and (5) other time (parallel activities, doing housework, and other practical
issues) is expected not to show any relationship with children’s trait emotional
intelligence.
 Methodology
 A convenience sample of parents of children 7–12 years of age from four schools from a
city in northeast Spain, were invited to participate. Schools were accessed through
personal and professional contacts. Letters asking for participation were sent to 800
families. The participants were: 155 mothers and 159 children. Information about age,
gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status of participants was obtained through a brief
demographic questionnaire. Children were between seven and 12 years of age (M = 9.26,
SD = 1.59). Of the total number of children, 44.7 % were females. The children were mostly
Spaniards of white ethnic origin (97.4 %) with a small proportion of children from other
European and South American countries. Families were distributed in terms of
socioeconomic status in the following way: low (3.1 %), medium–low (13.2 %), medium
(57.9 %), medium–high (20.1 %), and high (5.7 %). Participants did not substantially differ
from non-participants in any of the demographic variables according to data provided by
the schools. The mothers were given the demographic questionnaire and a short time-log
that they answered at home. At their schools in group sessions, the children answered two
questionnaires to measure their emotional intelligence. The study was approved by the IRB
committee of the author’s university. It also adhered to Spain’s legal requirements for
research. For all participants ‘informed consent’ was appropriately obtained.
A questionnaire was used to measure five variables. Each variable is measured with
one question. Therefore, the questionnaires have five questions. The variable time
mothers and children spent interacting with each other (joint interaction) was
measured with the following question: ‘‘In an average weekday, how much time do
you spend interacting with your child?’’ The variable time mothers and children spent
playing children’s games (joint play) was measured with the following question: ‘‘From
this interaction time, in an average weekday, how much time do you spend playing
with your child?’’ The variable time they spent engaged in educational activities (joint
educational) was measured with the question: ‘‘How much time do you spend
together with your child in educational activities (such as: drawing, reading, painting,
or playing certain educational games (e.g. Scrabble))?’’ The variable time they spent
watching TV together (joint TV watching) was measured with the question: ‘‘How much
time do you spend together with your child watching TV?’’ Finally, the variable time
the mothers spent helping their children with practical issues (joint practical) was
measured with the following question: ‘‘How much time do you spend together with
your child in other activities (such as: putting him/her to bed, having lunch or dinner,
doing homework, reminding him/her of cleaning up, and making him/her do his/her
chores)?’’
A single standardized measure of trait emotional
intelligence was computed as a combination of two
different scales: the Emotional Quotient Inventory, Youth
Version, (Baron and Parker 2000) and the Trait Meta-Mood
for Children (Rockhill and Greener 1999). Second, a
coefficient was obtained for each dimension of trait
emotional intelligence offered by the two questionnaires.
Results and Discussion
Results
 Recommendation
This study presents preliminary data and constitutes only a first step in the study of the impact
of mother–child joint activity in the development of children’s emotional intelligence.
Nevertheless, its results have some implications. They show that the time mothers and children
spend together in educational activities relates to trait emotional intelligence, and that other
mother–child joint activities relate to different dimensions of children’s trait emotional
intelligence. It also shows that these relations may be positive, neutral, or negative depending
on the type of activity in which the mother and the child engage. Most efforts in the
education of emotional intelligence have been directed towards training children’s
emotional abilities. This study suggests that in addition to training, parent–child informal joint
activity may be an important factor in the development of children’s trait emotional
intelligence dimensions. In the discussion between quantity and quality of time spent with
children, this study confirms previous findings showing that not only the time mothers spend
with their children is important, but the kinds of activities they develop also matter. Parents
may want to consider how much time they dedicate to their children and the quality of the
interactions they engage in with their children.