There is some debate about what influences children’s behavioral outcomes. This study draws on the parenting literature, which stresses the ideology of intensive mothering and parenting challenges faced in child-rearing, as well as neighborhood studies that emphasize social control and cohesion, in assessing the various arguments within this debate. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well- Being Study, I examine the relationship between mothering and neighborhood influences on children’s behavioral difficulties. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis of 1,381 mothers shows that intensive mothering, parenting challenges, social integration and collective efficacy have a significant impact above and beyond mothers’ demographic characteristics on the development of young children’s behaviors. Intensive mothering and parenting challenges bear out as critical predictors of children’s behavioral outcomes, but their effects are conditional on homeownership and neighborhood collective efficacy, respectively.