Brand Founders On Emma Grede’s “Three-Hour Mom” Approach: Smart Boundary Or Parenting Red Flag?

If there was any doubt, Emma Grede, co-founder of Kardashian- and Jenner-affiliated brands Good American, Skims and Safely and host of the podcast “Aspire,” is showing why she’s an entrepreneur—or, at the very least, a personal-brand machine—to be reckoned with during the heavily covered media tour for her new book, “Start With Yourself: A New Vision for Work & Life.”

The biggest response came after she told the Wall Street Journal last month that she’s a “max three-hour mum” to her four kids on weekends. Instead of spending the entire day with them, after seeing them from 9 a.m. to noon, she moves on to other activities that “fill my cup.” She also doesn’t read school emails or engage in activities she considers “overparenting,” like cutting sandwiches into star shapes.

While acknowledging she has a host of nannies, housekeepers, a chief of staff and a chef, she said, “Women are drained and exhausted. And so to put upon yourself that every waking minute is oriented around your kids is not a way to live.”

Her comments quickly polarized social media, with supporters applauding her candor and detractors slamming her as selfish. Beauty Independent’s audience includes plenty of ambitious women founders with demanding schedules, and we were curious about their take on Grede’s three-hour-mum stance. So, for the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty, we asked 18 founders directly for their thoughts on it.

Diann Valentine Founder, Slayyy Hair

As a beauty founder, serial entrepreneur and former single mom, I understand firsthand the sacrifices that often come with building a successful career. My work frequently required travel and time away from my daughter, but whenever I was home, I made it a priority to be fully present with her. I could never imagine placing a strict time limit on the moments spent with what I considered my greatest accomplishment in life.

While I agree with Emma that finding work-life balance is important—and that every woman should feel empowered to protect time for herself—limiting family time to a maximum of three hours over the course of an entire weekend feels difficult to understand, especially for a working mother whose weekdays are already consumed by work and responsibilities. For me, weekends were sacred because they provided uninterrupted time to reconnect with my daughter and remind her that no matter how demanding my career became, she remained my first priority.

Now, as the mother of a 35-year-old woman, I can clearly see just how valuable time is in the development of children. In my experience, children rarely measure love by success, wealth, parties, vacations or extravagant gifts. More often, they seem to experience love through presence, consistency and time shared together.

I hope Emma does not live to regret that statement as her children grow up because, make no mistake about it, everyone in her family is paying a price for her success!

Erin Piper Founder, Saint Crewe

I think it’s so refreshing because, here’s the thing, it’s what most of us are doing anyway. When you really examine the time spent with your family, there’s a lot of time that we wouldn’t claim as “quality.” We’re listening with one ear while scrolling, conference-calling or doing one of the thousand things we do as moms and founders.

In between those tasks, we’re spending pockets of time with our kids uninterrupted. Add that up, and I’m willing to bet that uninterrupted time adds up to those three hours. As a mom and a social worker, I can guarantee you it’s much more valuable to give three hours uninterrupted as opposed to eight hours where we are pulled in ten different directions. I love how honest Emma Grede is. We are finally telling women the truth in regard to what it takes to chase our dreams, and it’s wonderful.

Sejal Patel Founder and CEO, Plantkos

If we’re going to debate something like three-hour mom, I think the conversation needs a little more honesty around how modern family life is actually structured.

When people hear three hours, it sounds shockingly small. But if you break down the math of a typical working parent’s day, the amount of truly discretionary time is already far more limited than people realize. Between work, commuting, school schedules, activities, homework, dinner, baths and bedtime routines, most parents are operating within a relatively compressed weekday window. And within that window, not all time is equal.

From my perspective as a founder and a mom, the more interesting question isn’t whether three hours is enough, it’s how intentional those hours are. Presence and proximity are not the same thing. You can be physically home with your children while still mentally split across emails, work decisions, logistics and everything else competing for attention. That’s something I think a lot of high-performing parents quietly struggle with.

In our household, we try to reduce friction where we can. We have recurring meal structures during the week because decision fatigue is real. Dinner together is nonnegotiable for us because it creates space to reconnect and hear about each other’s day. And once evening routines with the kids begin, I try very hard to stop context-switching between work and home. Not perfectly, but deliberately.

I also think these conversations sometimes become overly simplified because they ignore how much support systems shape capacity. Flexible schedules, financial stability, involved partners, grandparents nearby, childcare, even commute length all influence how much margin a parent actually has at the end of the day. The ability to optimize time is not equally distributed.

At the same time, I don’t believe structure itself requires privilege. Sometimes it starts with clarity around what matters most to your family and reducing the unnecessary complexity that consumes energy and attention. And, honestly, parenting was never meant to function as a completely isolated system. Historically, there was always some version of shared support around raising children. Today, that support may look different or feel less visible, but it still matters.

So, yes, I think the math supports that weekday parenting time is limited for many families, but I also think reducing the conversation to a number misses the bigger point. Most parents are simply trying to create meaningful connection, consistency and presence within lives that are already very full.

Esmeralda Hernandez Founder and CEO, Beauty Creations

As a mother and a founder, time is the one thing I’m constantly trying to balance. My work requires long hours and frequent travel, but any spare moment I have is intentionally dedicated to my children. I don’t think there’s a parent alive who doesn’t carry some level of guilt about not doing “enough.”

The truth is, there is never enough time, but what matters most is being present in the time you do have. As my children begin heading off to college, I’m reminded that it’s not about perfection, it’s about showing up with love, consistency and intention. That’s what truly stays with them.

Indie Lee Founder, Indie Lee

I don't believe work-life balance is a reality for most mothers in 2026. I would say that the concept ebbs and flows at different stages. There were seasons in my life when I was traveling every weekend for retailer events and I wasn't home, and other times when I was able to be much more present.

Those didn’t necessarily occur at the same time, in the same week or day. When you're trying to be a mother, wife, friend and working to build something from the ground up, it is never truly “balanced,” there are always sacrifices and anyone who tells you otherwise isn't being honest.

So, do I understand the complexity of what Emma was saying? Absolutely. But I'm not here to comment on her parenting or anyone else's. It’s her life and family.

What I will comment on is this: If a male founder said he spends three hours with his kids on a weekend, nobody would bat an eye. It certainly wouldn't become social media fodder. That's the conversation worth having.

Carrie Sporer Co-Founder, Swair

I appreciate Emma Grede’s honesty, and I also understand why her comment sparked so many different reactions. Parenting is deeply personal and different for everyone. At the end of the day, every parent should allocate their time in a way that allows them to show up as the best version of themselves. If someone has the resources and a strong support system of caring adults around their children, there shouldn’t be shame in that.

For me, “balance” is not something that exists perfectly in a single day or even a single week. In my own life, there are periods where I’m more heads down building Swair, and other times where I’m more focused on being a mom, or a runner, or a daughter supporting her aging parents….or one of the many other parts of my life. Those phases can last days, weeks or even months but, over time, it evens out.

My kids are always my top priority, and I love that they get to see their mom building something, taking risks and creating a business from the ground up. I want them to grow up seeing that ambition and parenting aren’t mutually exclusive. There’s no one right way to do this; you just have to figure out what works for you and your family.

Christina Peng  Founder, Havyn

I appreciate her honesty. Balancing work and family is something so many parents are actively trying to navigate and hearing different perspectives and approaches can be helpful for people as they determine what works best for their own families.

For me personally, work and motherhood is much more blended, as our approach is to literally take our kids along for the ride. Our kids have actually come with us on business trips, store visits and even meetings, and they observe us strategizing ideas, pitching buyers, but also doing whatever it takes, no matter how small the task.

At the same time, we still try to intentionally be fully present together through certain moments of connection that matter deeply to us, like dinner and bedtime routines. Every family is different and has their own rhythm, and what matters is not simply the quantity of time, but the quality. By putting a number on it, it actually says to me that she’s being intentional about carving out time for her children.

I do think we also need to recognize how much expectations around parenting have shifted over the past couple of decades. Parents today are often expected to be endlessly available, deeply involved in every aspect of their children’s lives, emotionally attuned and somehow still professionally successful and balanced through it all. In many ways, the standard for modern parenting, especially for mothers, is far more intensive than it was even 10 or 20 years ago. While there’s value in greater involvement, I think it has also created a great deal of pressure and guilt for many parents.

And, candidly, the fact that there’s so much conversation around this does indicate there is still a different standard for women. If a man spoke about building a company while reserving a specific amount of time to be fully present, many people might even be impressed by his dedication or his intentionality. Yet when mothers say similar things, the conversation often takes on a different tone that leans toward judgment or guilt.

Children benefit from presence, attention and connection, but I also think there is tremendous value in them witnessing purpose, creativity and hard work modeled by their parents. Seeing a mother build something meaningful can give them vision and shape them in beautiful ways, too.

Most parents are simply doing the best they can with the season of life they’re in. My hope is that we can extend more grace toward different approaches to parenting and work, because there’s no single formula that defines a loving or devoted mother.

Shaina Rainford Founder, Bask & Lather

The conversation around what Emma Grede said shows how uncomfortable people still are with non-traditional motherhood. The reality is, women building at a high level don’t have the luxury of outdated expectations. It’s not about being everywhere at once, it’s about being intentional where it counts. I don’t measure my motherhood in hours, I measure it in impact.

Erica Manto Paulson Founder and Doula, Nurture

As both an entrepreneur and a mother, I actually really appreciate Emma Grede’s “three-hour mom” comment. What I love about this moment is that women are now choosing this more intentionally and without apology. When a mother prioritizes her own fulfillment, she’s not taking away from her children, she’s showing them that their needs matter by living it herself. That kind of modeling shapes how children grow into adults who know how to honor themselves alongside others.

When my children were young, I was often what you might call a “three-hour mom.” I was a single parent with four kids while building my work as a doula and childbirth educator. There were weekends when I wasn’t home at all because I was at a birth. At the time, it wasn’t a philosophical stance, it was simply what my life required. But now that my kids are older, they don’t remember a lack at all. They remember a mother who was passionate about her work and deeply connected to them.

In my work with mothers today, many women say they wish their own mothers had done more for themselves. There’s often an unspoken weight that children carry when a parent is unfulfilled. So while today’s mothers feel the pressure to “do it all,” they’re also aware that losing themselves entirely isn’t the answer.

I think we need to expand how we define motherhood. We’re not meant to be everything to our children, and we don’t need to be. Children benefit from being surrounded by many sources of care: grandparents, caregivers, teachers, community members. That doesn’t diminish a mother’s role, it strengthens it.

At the core of this conversation is confidence. When a mother feels secure in her bond with her child, she doesn’t feel threatened by stepping away or by others stepping in. She knows that her presence, even if it’s not constant, is deeply meaningful. So, to me, this isn’t about whether three hours is “right” or “wrong,” it’s about giving women permission to define motherhood in a way that is both sustainable and whole. And trusting that when a mother is supported and fulfilled, her children feel that, too.

Katey Hassan Co-Founder, Nocturnal Skincare

The reality of building a company is that the work bleeds into everything. There isn't a clean line between mom hours and founder hours, and I've stopped trying to draw one. What I've found instead is that my children benefit from seeing a mother who is genuinely engaged with her work and genuinely engaged with them. Not perfectly balanced, but present in both.

Joni Rogers-Kante Founder and CEO, SeneGence

Many years ago, when I was a single mom and a business owner, I tried to tackle my motherhood-business-guilt cycle by building my son's schedule into my daily work world. We built classrooms and hired teachers who reported to our building on school days. We drove to work together, had lunch together and left together at 5 p.m. headed for dinner (no home-cooked meals here). During the day, we'd pass in the hallways, check in on one another and play pranks now and again. Still, guilt was my constant companion.

We all do the best we can with the resources at hand, seeing to the all-so-important nurturing desires of motherhood and the perceived needs of our precious offspring. I'm directly involved on a daily basis with tens of thousands of women, most of whom are or have been mothers.

Even full-time stay-at-home moms have their own basket of guilts to choose from: Are they spending too much time, hovering, leaving enough room for self-expression, being adventurous enough, teaching enough before the school years begin? The guilt of "enough" continues at every level and in every method of childcare.

In the long run, what matters is that the child knows you love them unconditionally, unshakably, without limitation. If this is true for your child, well, you'll know you did enough.

Mandys Peña Founder and CEO, Simply Mandys

I think there's no one right way to be a working mom. Every mom has to find what works for her and her family. As a mom and a founder, I've learned that balance looks different for everyone, and what matters most is being intentional with the time you do have.

Building Simply Mandys has taught me that you can't pour from an empty cup, and that's not selfish, it's necessary. What I appreciate about Emma's honesty is that it opens up a real conversation about the pressure working moms face to be everything to everyone. We're all just doing our best, and I think we should give each other grace instead of judgment.

Melissa Palmieri Maniscalco Founder, MP Connect

I think being a working mom is hard, especially as an entrepreneur. It takes things to another level that is hard for those who aren’t to understand. Your brain is on overdrive at all times, so I can understand the need to spend time on yourself to recalibrate.

That said, I am an older mom, I had my first child at 40, so I feel like I approach things with a different lens. I worked my entire adult life until I had children, so while times get crazy and things come at you all at once, I feel lucky to have had my boys and cherish the time I get to spend with them on the weekends because during the week it is really hard to have moments with them outside of work, school, homework and activities.

Cheree Ashley Founder, Osier

Emma Grede’s comment sparked conversation because it challenges how we define presence as mothers. For me, it looks very different.

As a founder, I’ve chosen to structure my companies around my family, not the other way around. I’m willing to hire, delegate and even step back in business if it means I don’t miss the moments that matter at home.

Motherhood isn’t something I segment into hours; it’s a nonnegotiable part of how I live my life. I still sit down for dinner with my kids every night, and that time together is something I protect at all costs. I don’t think there’s one right way to do it but, for me, success means being fully present in both roles, and never letting one replace the other.

Shuting Hu Founder and CEO, Acaderma

I really like the idea of "high-impact, core memories." That framing resonates with me. Where I see things differently is in setting a fixed number of hours. Some weekends, I want to spend all 24 hours with my kids. Other times, work takes me away from them for months.

I also believe fathers should take on more responsibility and be the hands-on parent for many of those everyday moments. Motherhood doesn't fit neatly into a schedule, and I think the most honest thing any of us can do is give ourselves permission to be present in whatever way the season of life calls for.

Macrene Alexiades Founder, Macrene Actives

At its core, this debate isn’t new, it’s as old as mammalian life itself. Since the beginning, there has always been a natural balance between a parent’s role in securing resources and their role in nurturing their young. That dynamic hasn’t changed, only the context has.

What’s different now is that, as humans, we have a tendency to intellectualize and scrutinize these roles, often framing them as something novel or controversial. In reality, every parent, entrepreneur or not, is constantly calibrating how they allocate time, energy and presence.

So while labels like “three-hour mom” may spark headlines, they don’t capture the full picture. Parenting isn’t measured in hours; it’s defined by consistency, intention, and the quality of engagement over time.

Lindsay Holden Co-Founder, Odele

To each their own. This is a no-judgement zone. Parenting is hard, running a business is hard. There are certainly choices to be made, and she’s figured out how to prioritize and protect her time in a way that fills her cup.

I don’t think it makes her any less of an amazing parent if it translates to that much time together with kids and that time is quality time. As kids get older, their agendas are filled and, in the surrounding time, if you can get three hours of quality time…that’s incredible.

I don’t think what Emma said should have been as shocking of a statement as it’s been played out in the press if you stop and think about what’s really involved in each day. There is value in quality time and presence in three hours over constant presence where you may be physically there but mentally aren’t. There is also value in children seeing you have something, whatever that is, that doesn’t revolve around them.

Heather Rogers Founder, Doctor Rogers

I so appreciated Emma Grede’s frankness in her recent WSJ interview. Parents have different pressures, ambitions and ways they recharge to meet them. What matters is finding a way to recharge so we can be present and loving with our children. It is stability and predictability with our kids that is more important than the number of hours spent beside them. Some parents thrive being home full-time, while others find fulfillment in careers outside the home. Either way, our children benefit from seeing us with purpose, passion and resilience.

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