I think what Emma said was in defence of how much Regina hurt Henry.
Personally, I feel Emma has been more of a mother to Henry in her “five minutes” than Regina has been all his love.
But perhaps not all his life has been like the past year or so (since he got the book?) But what MM said in the pilot makes me believe that Henry was having problems long before that (likely because his mother is evil).
[adrotate group="5"]